The history of Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine originates here.

For whatever reason, a prince named Yamato Takeru no Mikoto would always worship Mt. Fuji from this hill. As a result, a torii gate and a miniature shrine were built. That’s right, long ago, one was actually able to see Mt. Fuji from here. Only recently, after World War II, many trees were planted hiding Mt. Fuji from view.

In the Kanto region, there were many spots from which one could see and worship Mt. Fuji (but now due to the density of buildings, the mountain can no longer be seen). You might have noticed spots like these if you have visited Tokyo, but have you heard of the “Mound Fuji”? The people of Fuji-kō constructed little mountains in their hometowns, complete with a Sengen Shrine at the base, a Komitake Shrine at the halfway point, and Miroku’s Eboshi Iwa three-quarters up. A mini Mt. Fuji, one could say. Even if they reached the summit in a few seconds, they could feel as though they climbed Mt. Fuji, even if they had never climbed the real thing. By having this “Mound Fuji” near your home, eventually you could feel that you could climb the real Mt. Fuji one day.

To this day, over 900 of these Mound Fujis can be found around the country.