The is a

Shintō shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

in the city of

Fujinomiya is a city located in central Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 132,507 in 56,655 households, and a population density of 340 persons per km². The total area of the city is . History The city name comes from ...

in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is the ''

ichinomiya is a Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a province. Shrines of lower rank were designated , , , and so forth. ''Encyclopedia of Shinto'' ''Ichi no miya'' retrieved 2013-5-14. The term gave rise t ...

'' of former Suruga Province, and is the head shrine of the approximately 1300 Asama or Sengen shrines in the country. The shrine has an extensive location within downtown Fujinomiya; in addition, the entire top of Mount Fuji from the 8th stage upwards is considered to be part of the shrine grounds. The main festival of the shrine is held annually on May 5, and features ''

yabusame is a type of mounted archery in traditional Japanese archery. An archer on a running horse shoots three special "turnip-headed" arrows successively at three wooden targets. This style of archery has its origins at the beginning of the Kama ...

'' performances. In 2013, the shrine was added to the

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

as part of the Fujisan Cultural Site.

Enshrined ''kami''

* , the daughter of . Mount Fuji was deified and its ''kami'' was named , also known as , or , and is associated with Konohanasakuya-hime.

Secondary ''kami''

* , husband of Konohanasakuya-hime * , father of Konohanasakuya-hime

History

The foundation of the Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taisha predates the historical period. Per shrine tradition, it was established in the reign of

Emperor Suinin , also known as was the 11th legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Less is known about ''Suinin'' than his father, and likewise he is also considered to be a "legendary emperor". Both the ''Kojiki'', and ...

, with the shrine first built on its current location during the reign of

Emperor Keikō , also known as and , was the 12th legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Both the ''Kojiki'', and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Keikō's all ...

. This was a period of intense volcanic activity on Mount Fuji, and the shrine was built in order to appease the ''kami'' of the mountain. The shrine is mentioned in accounts of the legendary hero

Yamato Takeru , originally , was a Japanese semi-legendary prince of the Yamato dynasty, son of Emperor Keikō, who is traditionally counted as the 12th Emperor of Japan. His name written in kanji can vary, in the '' Nihon Shoki'' it is spelled 日本武尊 ...

, who prayed to the ''kami'' of Mount Fuji to help him escape from danger while in Suruga. During the reign of

Emperor Heizei , also known as ''Heijō-tennō'', was the 51st emperor of Japan, Emperor Heizei, Yamamomo Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. Heizei's reign lasted from 806 to 809. Traditional narr ...

Sakanoue no Tamuramaro was a court noble, general and ''shōgun'' of the early Heian period of Japan. He served as Dainagon, Minister of War and ''Ukon'e no Taisho'' (Major Captain of the Right Division of Inner Palace Guards). He held the '' kabane'' of Ōsukune ...

was ordered to rebuild the shrine in its current location. Historical records, however, only exist as far as the early ninth century. The '' Shoku Nihongi'' records that Mount Fuji erupted in 781, and the ''

Nihon Montoku Tennō Jitsuroku , abbreviated as Montoku Jitsuroku, is an officially commissioned Japanese history text. Completed in 879, it is the fifth text in the Six National Histories series. It covers the years 850-858, the years of reign of the 55th Japanese sovereign, E ...

'' indicates that the Asama Jinja had become a third-rank shine by 853. As the ''kami'' of the shrine is the goddess of fire, it is logical that a shrine was erected to pray for the end of the eruption between 781 and around 806. The

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

Engishiki The is a Japanese book about laws and customs. The major part of the writing was completed in 927. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Engi-shiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 178. History In 905, Emperor Daigo ordered the compilation of th ...

'' records list the shrine as a and the ''

'' of Suruga Province; however, the Shizuoka Sengen Shrine in the city of

Shizuoka Shizuoka can refer to: * Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture * Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture * Shizuoka Airport * Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture ...

is located much closer to the

provincial capital A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the g ...

. For this reason, the shrine in Fujinomiya is styled as the "Hongū" and the shrine in Shizuoka is styled as the ''Shingū''. The entire mountain was off-limits for religious reasons, except for

Shugendō is a highly syncretic religion, a body of ascetic practices that originated in the Nara Period of Japan having evolved during the 7th century from an amalgamation of beliefs, philosophies, doctrines and ritual systems drawn from local f ...

monks A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

noted for their asceticism. Pilgrimages to Mount Fuji became common in the ninth century onwards, although women were forbidden from climbing. During the

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

, the ''

Shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamak ...

Minamoto no Yoritomo was the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1192 until 1199.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Minamoto no Yoriie" in . He was the husband of Hōjō Masako who acted as regent (''shikken'') after his ...

was a frequent visitor to the shrine during his hunting expeditions/war games at the base of Mount Fuji, beginning the tradition of ''

'' during the shrine's festivals and association with the

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

class. Through the

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

, the

Ashikaga clan The was a prominent Japanese samurai clan which established the Muromachi shogunate and ruled Japan from roughly 1333 to 1573. The Ashikaga were descended from a branch of the Minamoto clan, deriving originally from the town of Ashikaga ...

, Odawara Hōjō, the

Imagawa clan was a Japanese samurai clan that claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji by way of the Kawachi Genji. It was a branch of the Minamoto clan by the Ashikaga clan. Origins Ashikaga Kuniuji, grandson of Ashikaga Yoshiuji, established himself in ...

, the

Takeda clan The was a Japanese samurai clan active from the late Heian period until the late 16th century. The clan was historically based in Kai Province in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture. The clan reached its greatest influence under the rule of Taked ...

and the

Tokugawa clan The is a Japanese dynasty that was formerly a powerful ''daimyō'' family. They nominally descended from Emperor Seiwa (850–880) and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji) through the Matsudaira clan. The early history of this clan r ...

were patrons of the shrine.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...

made a large donation after his victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, and subsequent generations of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

kept the shrine in good repair. During the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...

, the shrine was the center of a cult worshipping Mount Fuji, and drew pilgrims from all over Japan. The Hongū Sengen Taisha was the place at which pilgrims would purify themselves in water before beginning the ascent. From 1871, under the State Shinto's

Modern system of ranked Shinto shrines The was an organizational aspect of the establishment of Japanese State Shinto. This system classified Shinto shrines as either official government shrines or "other" shrines. The official shrines were divided into #Imperial shrines (''kampei ...

, the Fuji Hongū Sengen Taisha was officially designated a . It was promoted to a in 1896, meaning that it stood in the first rank of government-supported shrines. Today, some 400,000 pilgrims climb Mount Fuji every year, and many of them stop at the shrine in order to wish for a safe climb. The shrine celebrated the 1200th anniversary of its foundation in 2006. In 2013, it was included in the

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

designation for Mount Fuji 1418
(2013) iii, vi The shrine is located about ten-minutes on foot from

Fujinomiya Station is a train station, railway station on the Minobu Line of Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central) located in the city of Fujinomiya, Shizuoka, Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is approximately at the mid-way point of the Minobu Line ...

on the JR Central

Minobu Line The is a railway line in the Tōkai region of Japan operated by the Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central). It connects Fuji Station in Fuji, Shizuoka to Kōfu Station in Kōfu, Yamanashi, and the Tōkaidō Main Line with the Chūō Main ...

Cultural properties

Important Cultural Properties

* The ''Honden'' of the shrine is in the distinctive ''sengen-zukuri'' style with a two-story gate tower. It was built in 1604 per a donation by Tokugawa Ieyasu, but has been repaired several times, most notably after the Ansei Tōkai earthquake of 1854. It has been registered as a National Important Cultural Property since 1907. * The shrine possesses a

hanging scroll depicting the ''Fuji Mandala'' (絹本著色富士曼荼羅図 ). The scroll measures 180.2 x 117.8 cm and depicts an idealized view of Mount Fuji in gold, with three summits, each of which contains the image of divinity. A long line of white robed pilgrims is snaking up the slopes of the mountain, and the sun and moon are depicted to either side of the peak. This scroll was designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1977 *The shrine possesses a

tachi A is a type of traditionally made Japanese sword (''nihonto'') worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. ''Tachi'' and ''katana'' generally differ in length, degree of curvature, and how they were worn when sheathed, the latter depending on t ...

Japanese sword A is one of several types of traditionally made swords from Japan. Bronze swords were made as early as the Yayoi period (1000 BC – 300 AD), though most people generally refer to the curved blades made from the Heian period (794 – 1185) to ...

(太刀銘南无薬師瑠璃光如来), which is claimed to have been a donation from Takeda Shingen. The hilt of the sword is inscribed with the name "Kanemitsu", who was a noted wordsmith from Bizen active from 1306-1334. This sword was designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1912 *The shrine also possesses a ''

wakizashi The is one of the traditionally made Japanese swords (''nihontō'') worn by the samurai in feudal Japan. History and use The production of swords in Japan is divided into specific time periods:

'' dagger (脇指銘奉富士本宮源式部丞信国) from the Muromachi period. This dagger is inscribed with the date of 1427 on its hilt and the name of "Nobukuni". It was a donation to the shrine by

Anayama Nobutomo was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He was the son of Anayama Nobutsuna. Nobutomo served the Takeda clan of Kai Province and held the title of , or ''Defender of Izu. He enjoyed special status in the Takeda retainer band due to h ...

, the son-in-law of

Takeda Nobutora was a Japanese ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) who controlled the Province of Kai, and fought in a number of battles of the Sengoku period. He was the father of the famous Takeda Shingen. Biography Nobutora’s son was Harunobu, later known as Tak ...

in 1547. It has been registered as a National Important Cultural Property since 1912.

Natural Monument

* is a large pond in the shrine grounds which contains a spring which is the headwaters of the Kanda river, a minor tributary of the Fuji River. It has been protected as a National

Natural Monument A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, na ...

since 1944.

References

* * Plutschow, Herbe. ''Matsuri: The Festivals of Japan''. RoutledgeCurzon (1996) * Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1962).
''Studies in Shinto and Shrines.''
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society
OCLC 3994492
* ____________. (1959)
''The Imperial House of Japan.''
Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society
OCLC 194887

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha Shinto shrines in Shizuoka Prefecture World Heritage Sites in Japan Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Ichinomiya Suruga Province Natural monuments of Japan Kanpei-taisha Beppyo shrines