When you ride the Shinkansen, there’s always someone that says, “Ah, it’s Mt. Fuji.” As if some sort of bait, everyone looks up from their smartphones. They cannot resist the urge to look at Mt. Fuji. Everyone turns their faces that way and falls in love. There is probably no other mountain that is as loved as Mt. Fuji.

When I lived in Shōnan, I would bike to the shoreline and back. The Mt. Fuji that I experienced was the one that came into view beyond Inamuragasaki. The Mt. Fuji beyond Enoshima is sometimes there and sometimes not, or sometimes white, sometimes not. It felt like it was always one or the other, no inbetween.
However, after staying in Fuji-Yoshida for a month, you would be surprised at the ever-changing expressions of Mt. Fuji on a day to day basis. On the first day, we saw a mountain covered in clouds. The blue of a cloudless sky is also different. It’s dense, it’s faded, and the color is completely different at noon and at night.

The snow at the peak also changes depending on the day. You would think that there would be more snow following a cold day, but the opposite also holds true. When traversing Mt. Fuji, the snow would slowly disappear, just like the passing time. And then, when we would head back, the snow would reappear, just like that. Even in the same month of May, the Mt. Fuji we saw from Fuji-Yoshida and the one from Fujimiya were completely different.

The multi-faceted emotions of Mt. Fuji. Being moved each time you hear the sound of the shutter, you would think that one would grow tired eventually. But over the span of 30 days, we collected photos of “Today’s Fuji”.

Why are we so charmed by Mt. Fuji?

Logically speaking, Mt. Fuji is a stand alone mountain, so it's easy to stick out as a focal point. Mountains that are a part of ranges don’t really stick out in our minds. Furthermore, Mt. Fuji is rooted in Japanese people’s minds. Even in elementary school you’re asked to draw Mt. Fuji, so naturally it is imprinted into our minds.

But, It don’t think that’s it.

Looking back, ruins from the Jōmon period could all be found at locations where one can easily view Mt. Fuji. The Man'yōshū contains poetry about Mt. Fuji being a symbol of Japan. Even today, the elders of Fuji-Yoshida face Mt. Fuji on a clear day and put their hands together. That natural kind of prayer suggests that a primitive faith still remains. Mt. Fuji is rooted in the hearts of the Japanese. And in the background is a great history of Fuji faith...as taught to us by the curator of Fuji Museum, one Mitsutoshi Fuse.

Then in 2013, when Mt. Fuji became recognized as a world heritage site, there was no doubt that Mt. Fuji was no ordinary mountain.

Fuji-kō's heyday was in the Edo period. Through Hiroshige Utagawa and Hokusai Katsushika’s ukiyo-e art, Mt. Fuji also became imprinted in the eyes of non-Japanese people. Perhaps it has taken root in the hearts of those abroad as well. From the base of the mountain, you can understand why Mt. Fuji is a symbol of faith. And that’s only half of it. Why Mt. Fuji is also a source of art? To find out, stay tuned for the release of our guide from the fifth gō and up.

Our travels at ON THE TRIP continue.

ON THE TRIP Editing Department

Original Japanese Text:　
Akihito Shiga
Translation:　
Farshad Khansari
Autumn Smith
Audio:
Farshad Khansari
Photography:　
Hiroshi Honma

Some photos provided by
Mt. Fuji Museum
The “Mt. Fuji detailed illustration” is from a private collection.
Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine
“Mt. Fuji detailed illustration” from Motonao Honjo
"Kamiyoshida Village Illustration" from Masafumi Shimura

*This guide was created based on documents and interviews and includes some interpretation done by us at ON THE TRIP. Theories differ between experts, so try to find out what really happened on your travels!