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The Deity of Mount Fuji The Shinto deity Princess Konohanasakuya is believed to be as beautiful as a cherry blossom. Refusing to accept the fact that - like the fabled cherry blossoms - one day her beauty would fade, the Princess rode to the top of Mount Fuji on a white horse and leaving her sword behind at the summit, ascended to heaven. A shrine is now located at the place where she is said to have ascended to heaven, at the mountain’s highest peak, Kengamine. In addition to the shrine on the summit and the large shrine that stands at the base of the mountain, shrines dedicated to the goddess (known as Sengen Shrines) exist throughout Japan.
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The Origin of the Name of Mount Fuji There are several theories about the origin of the name of Mount Fuji. The most common one is that the name comes from Chinese characters meaning “incomparably high” or “incomparably unique.” Another explanation has it that the name comes from Chinese characters meaning “inexhaustible,” which could imply either that the mountain’s snows never melt or that its great size was “inexhaustible.” In Japan’s 8th century poetry anthology, the Manyoshu, there is a famous poem that reads:
As I venture out
Since the Kamakura period (1192-1333), which was an era when the samurai class took political control of the country, Mount Fuji was written using Chinese characters meaning “prosperity of the samurai class.” In addition, other explanations state that the name was derived from the Ainu language meaning “fire mountain,” or perhaps from the Malay word “fuji,” meaning splendid.
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