A Japanese tradition (of which, however, there is no written notice earlier than A.D. 1652) affirms that Fuji arose from the earth in a single night some time about 300 B.C., while Lake Biwa near Kyōto sank simultaneously. May we not here have an echo of some early eruption, which resulted in the formation, not indeed of Lake Biwa distant a hundred and forty miles, but of one of the numerous small lakes at the foot of the mountain?
The following miscellaneous items will perhaps interest some readers:—The Japanese are fond of comparing Fuji to an inverted fan.—Fuji is inhabited by a lovely goddess named Ko-no-hana-saku-ya-hime, which, being interpreted, means "the Princess who Makes the Blossoms of the Trees to Flower." She is also called Sengen or Asama, and numerous shrines are dedicated to her in many provinces.[1] The peasants of the neighbouring country-side often speak of Fuji simply as O Yama, "the Honourable Mountain," or "the Mountain," instead of mentioning its proper name. One of Hokusai's best picture-books is his Fuji Hyakkei, or "Hundred Views of Fuji," executed when he had reached the age of seventy-six. In it, the grand mountain stands depicted from every point of view and under every possible circumstance and a few impossible ones; for instance, the artist gives us Fuji in process of being ascended by a dragon. Copies of this book are common, but good ones are rather scarce. According to a popular superstition, the ashes brought down during the day by the tread of pilgrims feet re-ascend spontaneously at night. The mountain is divided into ten stations, and formerly no woman was allowed to climb higher than the eighth. Lady Parkes was the first woman to tread the summit. This was in October, 1867. Steam sufficiently hot to cook an egg still issues from several spots on the crater lip. The Japanese have enriched their language by coining words for special aspects of their favourite mountain. Thus kagami-Fuji, literally "mirror Fuji," means the reflection
- ↑ May it be a misunderstood echo of this legend that has led some modern English writers to speak of Mount Fuji itself as "she," than which nothing can be less consonant with Japanese modes of thought?
