Now, listen to another story as you continue up this scenic path.

──Approximately 3.5km from Naka no Chaya Teahouse to Umagaeshi──

When researching the Fuji faith, the person we found the most interesting is Miroku. Jirō Niita’s novel, “Death in Fuji”, which was quoted earlier is also about Miroku’s life.

Miroku was one of the 6th generation of disciples of the Kakugyō and was said to have played a role in the popularity of Fuji-kō.

During this time a man named Yoshimune Tokugawa had just overthrown the bakufu regime. He was right in the midst of the Kyōhō Reforms, an array of economic and cultural policies​. However, Miroku saw this as a political move for the ruling class to rebuild the bakufu’s public finance while ignoring the common people. Take, for instance, taxes. At the time, the yearly tax was paid in rice, so the higher the value on rice, the richer the government became. As a result, the bakufu consciously raised the value of rice making it difficult for producers to sell rice. The common people became unable to purchase rice, which resulted in the “Severe Famine of Kyōhō”. One million people died of starvation, and Miroku lamented this as a calamity brought on by humankind.

Miroku started to think about ways to reform society. One of the teachings of the founder of Fuji-kō, the Kakugyō, was that all life begins at Mt. Fuji. If it does, then the rice that supports life should also be born from Mt.Fuji. Going back to the starting point, he turned the kakugyō’s teachings “to be for the good of society”. One of his newfound teachings was to “not only believe, but to work diligently.” He realized that monks only thought about belief and nothing else. He also criticized that the kimono store Mitsukoshi, now a popular department store, only thought about money. He came to the conclusion that one should work everyday to obtain food for themselves while thinking about their faith. Furthermore, Miroku stressed that men and women should be treated equally. Even though both men and women did the same jobs, why were women not allowed to climb Mt Fuji? There was also a rule that in order to climb Mt. Fuji one must abstain from eating meat, drinking alcohol, having sexual intercourse, etc. for 100 days before the climb. Miroku thought that rule should be abolished. He preached that anyone with the desire to climb Mt. Fuji should be able to do so.

However, Miroku’s teachings were not well received while he was alive. There are a few possible reasons why Miroku died. One was that though he tried to directly appeal to the bakufu, he was turned away at the door. He also must have been tormented by his teachings not being accepted within the community. Regardless, he decided, in the end, to make his own path to attain Buddhahood in order to become a messenger of the gods and reform society.

It was 1733. Miroku, who was trying to get to the summit, was told he was a nuisance, and so finally, he entered a zushi cabinet found at the Eboshi Rock three-quarters up the mountain. After a 31 day period of no food, Miroku’s disciples listened to his last words before he died. The disciples documented those words into “scroll 31” as Miroku’s teachings. Their descendents are the Oshi in Kita-Yoshida, but Miroku’s teachings were mostly spread in the Edo period. Those powerful teachings were included in a sensational part, “Death in Fuji”. It was a feeling that everyone resonated with. Following these teachings, the Fuji-kō groups were formed. They took on Miroku’s teachings and began their pilgrimages to climb Mt. Fuji. A common phrase 100 years after Miroku’s death was “888 Lectures for 888 towns in Edo,” meaning the teachings have spread far and wide.

So, how did these beliefs become so popular? The foundation was already there. Since long ago, the gods said to inhabit Mt. Fuji were enshrined in every part of Japan. Mt. Fuji was regarded as sacred, and everyone yearned to go see it, but at the time it was very difficult to climb it. Before long, however, was the Fuji-kō boom, which led to anyone being able to climb Mt. Fuji, not just a chosen representative. Thus, more Oshi homes and mountain huts came to be, making it easier to approach the climb.

Nowadays, many Japanese people say, “I want to climb Mt. Fuji at least once in my lifetime.” It could be said that this feeling was passed down through the very DNA of Miroku and the subsequent followers of Fuji-kō.