Pilgrimage and the sacred mountains have thus been integral factors in the evolution of Japanese culture and religion. Whether in giving thanks for rains or plentiful crops, seeking the assistance of Kami spirits or the blessings of Buddhist divinities, the Japanese people have always recognized the wisdom of disengaging from the social realm to periodically reconnect with the sacred places of peace and power. The number of mountains however, that were venerated and visited by pilgrims from throughout the entire country of Japan is relatively small. The locations of these major sacred mountains are noted in this book, on the map preceeding the Asia photographs. During the spring, summer and autumn of 1985 the author rode thousands of miles by bicycle to climb, photograph and live upon most of these mountains.
Scholars debate the genesis of the mountain's name.
Most probably deriving from the Ainu shamanistic people of northern Hokkaido island, Fuji means both 'everlasting life' and 'deity of fire'. Situated in a region densely populated from the stone age and frequently active since its last eruption in 1707, the mountain has acquired an ancient and enormous corpus of myth regarding its divine origins, resident deities, and spiritual powers. The soaring peak has been venerated as the home of a fire god, later the dwelling of a Shinto goddess of flowing trees, and since Buddhist times, the abode of Dainichi Nyorai, the Buddha of All-Illuminating Wisdom. En no Gyoja around 700 AD, but it is more likely that the first ascents began in the 12th or 13th centuries. From the 15th century onwards Fuji became a popular pilgrimage destination.