Hey hey, my name is Thersa Matsuura, author of The Book of Japanese Folklore and podcaster here at Uncanny Japan where I tell you about the more obscure nooks and crannies of Japanese culture.
Today’s show is the last of a 6-part mini-series that has been made possible thanks to our sponsor Explore Worldwide. They offer small group adventures with local, on the ground, expert leaders. I really think you’re going to like them.
Pop quiz. What’s the tallest mountain in Japan? Mount Fuji. Good! When was the last time Fuji-san erupted? Ah! That would be 1707~1708. When will it erupt again? No telling. It’s dormant, but still considered an active volcano.
Remember that when you’re trekking up that rock slope or sitting in a cafe in Hakone drinking tea and taking in that breathtaking view that has inspired poets, writers, and artists throughout history.
Today I’m going to touch on some Mount Fuji basics but then I’m going to tell you an absolutely wild myth about the goddess enshrined there, and a bizarre little legend about En no Goja, a mountain ascetic who licks swords.
Let’s start with a very well-known and humorous Japanese saying about Mount Fuji, one that you’ll hear a lot if you bring up the mountain in conversation. That is: “ichido mo noborunu baka, ni do noboru, baka”. Something like, “Those who never climb Mount Fuji even once are fools. Those who climb Mount Fuji MORE than once are also fools.”
Yes, if you have the opportunity, definitely climb Japan’s tallest and most famous of mountains. But you’ll soon learn, it’s not a beautiful climb. Treeless and you’re walking on lava rock and I don’t know about now, but it used to be really littered with trash. The view is outstanding though. But for me, once was enough. I’d much rather sit in that cafe in Hakone, drinking a matcha latte and relishing in its splendor.
So, yes! I did climb, but I wasn’t smart about it though. A group of university friends invited me, saying we wouldn’t climb if it was raining. It was mid summer, so excruciatingly hot down at the foot of the mountain. The weather looked quite cloudy, so I just assumed we weren’t going to climb. I really don’t know why I thought that when I piled into the van with a half dozen friends all decked out in mountain climbing gear, backpacks, little handheld oxygen canisters. I really should have grabbed a jacket at the very least.
The plan was to climb all night so we could see the sunrise at the top. That was a very popular way to climb back in the early nineties, but I just read it’s called Bullet Climbing now and not only frowned upon, but the gates that let you up onto one of the four climbing paths actually close early to prevent it. You’re encouraged to go early and stay the night (or some hours) in one of the lodgings along the way. I recommend that. Adapting to the altitude is important.
Long story short, I nearly froze to death on top of getting altitude sickness at the 8th station where I dramatically swore I’d pay for a helicopter to come get me. Would someone please call one. Luckily there weren’t any cell phones back then. I was nineteen or twenty. Still invincible.
Anyway, a friend lent me an extra jacket. We watched the sun come up from there – the place I had resigned to die – but the beauty of that sunrise combined with some warmth gave me my second wind. I did make it to the top!
And I’m here to tell you, if you want to climb, dress properly, research and do everything that’s recommended. It’s not a hard mountain in that you don’t need ropes and carabiners (kah ruh BEE nerz). But it’s not a stroll either. Around a half dozen climbers die each year and there are thousands of accidents. That’s all during a roughly two month climbing season.
Ten months of the year and for those who just want to take in the majestic beauty. I recommend Hakone.
Speaking of Hakone, our sponsor Explore Worldwide has several adventures where you’ll visit Hakone which is close to the iconic mountain and on a clear day you’ll get the most amazing views. Also, Hakone is just a really cool place. You can visit a crater dotted with steaming sulphur springs – called the Great Boiling Valley and eat eggs that have been boiled in one of them – the legend is you gain seven years of life if you do. I was just there and you can get black soup ramen, curry bread, popcorn, and ice cream.
If you go to exploreworldwide.com click on Asia and then Japan, then you can browse and see everything else they have to offer. If you’re interested in Hakone, check out the “Japan in Depth: Footsteps of the Shogun”, “Simply Japan”, and “Upgraded Discover Japan” to see all the other exciting things you can see and do in 12 to 14 days.
oh, and right before i recorded this i see they’ve raised the price to climb fuji san to 4,000 yen. so hakone is looking nicer
Did you know, Mount Fuji straddles two prefectures, Shizuoka and Yamanashi, but the summit is not considered to be in either one of those.
There is no address for the top of Mount Fuji but there is a post office and people do love to send letters and postcards from there. You get a neat “one of a kind” postmark if you do.
Now let me tell you about the goddess of Mount Fuji. She’s actually considered the most beautiful of all Shinto goddesses. Of such unparalleled beauty, that she’s the origin of the name for cherry blossom. Her name – Konohana Sakuya Hime – literally means: “tree flower bloom princess”. It’s not that she was as pretty as cherry blossoms but that cherry blossoms were modeled after her beauty.
She’s the goddess of water, navigation, fishing, agriculture, weaving, fire prevention and safe childbirth.
She’s especially known for remarkably giving birth safely in the midst of a fire, and I am guessing she remained stunning while doing it. She is enshrined at Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha Shrine.
Here’s her story.
The Sun Goddess, Amaterasu’s grandson, Ninigi hayahi no Mikoto saw Konohana Sakuya Hime and fell instantly in love with her. However, when he asked her father – the mountain god – Ooyama Tsumi no Mikoto (literally big mountain god) – he was told, not only can you have her hand in marriage as a bonus you have to marry her sister, too.
Her sister’s name was Iwanaga Hime (Princess Long Rock). That might sound like a good deal, but the story goes her sister wasn’t what we’d call conventionally beautiful. She was quite the opposite. I’m quoting here, “Iwanaga hime struck fear into the hearts of anyone who saw her.” Which isn’t a very nice thing to say.
Ninigi no Mikoto steadfastly refused the sister and sent her back to her father. Big mistake. Had he accepted her hand in marriage, too, he would have been granted eternal life. Because that is what Iwanaga Hime could do. But because he rejected her he was demoted to just an average person’s lifespan.
It gets worse. Ninigi hayahi no Mikoto is more of a jerk than you think. After the marriage ceremony all seems joyous and fertile. So fertile in fact that Konohana Sakuya becomes pregnant after their very first night together. Well, Ninigi assumes this means she must have been unfateful. Not that he considered she’s a literal goddess and might have special powers.
So poor Konohana Sakuya hime, to prove that she wasn’t unfaithful, goes into a birthing hut, lights it on fire and amid the raging flames, she gives birth to three boys. The end. Well, not the end, but that’s the best part of the story.
You’ll find a type of shrine called Sengen Jinja all over Japan. There are over 1,300 actually. And like Inari shrines are dedicated to foxes, Sengen shrines are dedicated to Konoha Sakuya Hime and usually her father (Oyama Tsumi) and sometimes even her sister, (Iwanaga Hime).
Konohana Sakuya was first enshrined on Mount Fuji after some major eruptions during the Edo era. Being the goddess of water – one of her many talents – it was believed she would help quell some of those fires raging in Fuji-san’s heart. Which she kind of did. No eruptions since! Knock on wood.
Oh, another thing she’s the goddess of is sake brewing. That’s because after having children, she raised them on a sweet sake she made.
So there’s your beautiful goddess, but now let me tell you about the legendary En no Gyōja or En no Ozuna, who is believed to be the originator of the Shugendo sect (a blend of Shinto, esoteric Buddhism and Daoism). He’s a herbalist, mystic and had magical powers. And this legend tells about his connection to Mount Fuji.
Once upon a time, about 1,500 years ago, in the province of Yamato, there lived an ascetic named En no Ozuno. En no Ozuno loved mountains from a very young age. When he became a young man, he announced to his mother: I want to become a child of the mountain god!
So he bade her farewell and disappeared into the mountains. There he secluded himself from society. He ate leaves and bark and did a whole bunch of mysterious training. He eventually acquired a curious skill called the “Peacock Spell” which allowed him to hop from mountain top to mountain top and ride around on clouds.
Another thing that happened while up alone in the mountains was he started befriending a bunch of demons or oni. As if the mountain hopping and cloud riding weren’t strange enough when people heard about his oni pals, they decided this was not a good person, even though he was minding his own business. He was someone to be afraid of. It got to the point where people trembled even at the mention of his name.
A rumor spread that he was using these demons as his servants and was trying to (I quote) “disrupt the world”. For quite awhile, officials tried to catch him, but En no Ozuna was not so easily caught.
That is until the same officials abducted his mother and put out the word. If En no Ozuna does not turn himself in, they will kill her! Seriously.
Well, then. En no Ozuna is in fact not a bad guy. He turns himself in and is banished to a small island off the Izu Peninsula called Oshima. He goes peacefully. While on the boat ride there, though, he sees Mount Fuji for the first time and is deeply moved.
While on the island he waits until his captors aren’t looking and uses the ol’ Peacock Spell and leaps onto a cloud to travel to the top Fuji san. The view is absolutely breathtaking, standing there above the clouds, looking over the land, he can’t help but do it again. The next day he waits for his captors to become distracted with something else and hops on over to enjoy the mountaintop. Not hurting a soul, mind you.
But one day he’s caught and his imprisoners become so afraid of this power he wields, that they decide to kill him. Right then and there. One of them whips out his sword and starts swinging it around. What does En no Ozuna do?
Why! He leans over and licks the sword, of course! Stunned at the audacity and I’d guess courage, the men stop and examine the blade. There they find written, actually engraved in the metal, are the characters Fuji san.
Ah! They suddenly change their minds. Someone who has this kind of power must be working with the gods. So they release En no Ozuna from exile and he returns to the mainland.
There he takes two of his oni friends and goes to the top of Mount Juni ga take, a mountain, located in Gifu that is famous because from it you can see the peaks of twelve other mountains. Mount Fuji being one of them.
En no Ozuna prays daily to the goddess of Fuji-san (who we just met: Konohana sakuya-hime) and asks: Please make me a child of the mountain. He’s still pursuing his childhood dream.
One night, she finally answers in the affirmative. Yes, you may be the child of Fuji.
En no Ozuna wakes up, startled. Ah it was just a dream, though, he thought. But then he notices, engraved on the pine tree by his side, the characters: Fuji san. His wish had been granted. He was overjoyed.
From that day forward when he prayed, the illnesses of the villagers who lived below him would all be cured quickly. A prayer hall was built in his honor on Mount Junigake and he was called both En no Gyoja and En no Ozuna and was revered as the founder of Mount Fuji.
I did a google maps search and you can find some temples and shrines dedicated to him. Most of them look to be in very out of the way places, on the tops of mountains, as you’d expect. But I did like that sometimes you’ll even find he’s accompanied by his two oni friends.
Okay, that’s all for today.
Thank you for listening; thank you patrons for being super awesome and supporting me and the show; and thank you Explore Worldwide, for also being awesome and sponsoring the mini series. Everyone stay safe and well and I’ll talk to you again in two weeks.
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