「到底是什麼妨礙它過來呢？就讓它過來吧！有什麼問題呢？他們只是在辦一場秀，好看看他們如何製造出陰謀論的輿論。」……
世界上最有名的火山之一，可能就是富士山了。它以3776公尺的高度聳立，不僅在日本的地理版圖上傲然挺拔，也在全球人的精神世界中佔有一席之地。從遠古時代起，日本便以「Fujisan」（富士山）稱呼它，這座山早已成為日出之國傳統、視覺文化與神話的一部分。今天，我們將更深入認識它。
當我們談到「Fujisan」（富士山）時，指的並非任何一座普通的火山，而是一座於2013年6月22日列入聯合國教科文組織（UNESCO）世界文化遺產名錄的山嶽，並與白山（Monte Haku）和立山（Tate）同屬「三霊山」（Sanreizan，三座神聖之山）。
山岳崇拜起源於奈良時代（710-794年），而神聖山岳的地位則源自「修驗道」（Shugendo，意為「道、驗、行」）的信仰，這是佛教、神道教與道教融合的產物。
對佛教徒而言，富士山的誕生可追溯至繩文時代（約公元前14,500年至公元前300年），該山獻給女神「淺間大神」（Sengen-Sama），又稱「木花咲耶姫」（Konohanasakuya-hime），她是山津神（Ohoyamatsumi）——山神——與妻子「澪津毘賣命」（Nigini）的女兒。
山頂有一座奉祀女神的神社，每年八月，朝聖者會攀至「富士吉田」（Fujijoshida）鎮，觀賞「吉田火祭」（Yoshida no Himatsuri），向女神的神社致敬，祈求火山不再噴發。富士山最後一次展現其憤怒，是在1707年12月16日的「貞享大噴火」（Erupción Hoei）。
關於其名字的由來有許多傳說，因此Depending on its kanji characters, the meaning could be「不朽」、“many soldiers”、“peerless” or “endless”. No matter the origin, the undeniable fact is that its visual allure is unmatched. For five months each year, its cone is draped in snow, and since the Edo period (1603-1868), when Japan’s capital shifted to Edo—modern Tokyo—it became visible from multiple routes that formed the Gokaido, the network of five major highways. This era witnessed a flourishing of diverse cultural arts inspired by the mountain’s captivating presence.
A sacred mountain was off-limits to women, but by the Meiji period (1868-1912), this changed. As Lindsey DeWitt notes in her work on the visual exclusion of women from sacred mountains in Japan, an imperial edict in May 1872 abolished remaining practices excluding women from shrine and temple lands, permitting them to ascend mountains for worship.
Mount Fuji has achieved global iconic status, inspiring the renowned artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), who depicted it in his celebrated Ukiyo-e woodblock print series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (though the collection actually contains forty works). The mountain also features in various poems, including those by the famous Matsuo Basho (1644-1694):
“Gem-like drops falling in a dream,
a kingdom of magic.
The sun strikes its forehead
atop Mount Fuji.”
A cult originating from the Edo period encourages followers, known as Fuji-ko, to climb the mountain. Today, this practice is integrated into Shintoism, and it is believed that those who ascend the volcano will experience rebirth, be purified, and thus become “capable of finding happiness.”
In contrast, the Aokigahara forest lies in its plains. Legends claim that Oni (ogres/demons), Yurei (ghosts), and Yokai (monsters) reside there. Toward the end of the Edo period, Japan suffered endless famines, forcing extremely poor families to abandon elderly relatives and young children, hoping they would be taken in by the goddess Sengen-Sama—a situation portrayed by Shohei Imamura in Narayama Bushiko (The Ballad of Narayama, 1983).
Mount Fuji serves as Japan’s calling card, a symbol used to identify the country not only internationally but domestically as well. For Japanese people, there are different types of Fuji depending on the season, time of day, or vantage point from which it is viewed. You may have encountered the term “reverse Fuji,” which appears on 1,000-yen banknotes and can be seen reflected in the calm waters of the five lakes region—Kawaguchiko, Motosuko, Saiko, Yamanakako, and Shojiko—or the Aka Fuji (Red Fuji), depicted in woodblock prints.