Mt. Fuji – Ever-lasting mountain
2011年06月30日
This June I happened to visit Yamanashi Prefecture, just west of Tokyo, for my business.
I and my business partner popped in Fujikyu Railway at Otsuki station and went south until Kawaguchi-ko station, that lies on the skirt of Mt. Fuji.
Weather forecaster had told that it might have been raining on the day, but when we went Yamanashi we got a fine day.
So we could see magnificent faces of Mt. Fuji everywhere on our way of business, getting on the railway.
I now live in Kansai area, western Japan, so I don’t have a chance to see this most famous mountain in Japan unless I go on a trip to east, like the
business tour we did on June. I and my business partner, Mr. Sumida, were lucky to see Mt. Fuji fully on only one-day trip.
Have you ever seen Mt. Fuji?
If you had an experience to live in surrounding areas of the mountain, either Ymanashi or Shizuoka Prefecture, then you must have seen it.
Or if you had lived or worked in Kanto area, then you might have had chances to see it far in the west when you lifted yourself onto tops of tall buildings.
But if you assume there is no such tall buildings and there is also no air pollution, then you should see a shape of the mountain from almost ubiquitous places in southern Kanto area, even on the ground.
You can find a place name called “Fujimi(富士見)” in many cities in Tokyo and nearby prefectures.
The original meaning of “Fujimi” is ‘a place from which Mt. Fuji can be seen’.
But nowadays you might not be able to see the high mountain far west when you stand at a “Fujimi”. If so, then it must be thanks to modern developments – high buildings and air pollution.
“Fugaku sanju-rokkei (富岳三十六景)” is a series of woodblock prints drawn by an Edo era’s famous artist Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎, 1760-1849).
“Fugaku sanju-rokkei (富岳三十六景)” means ‘36 views of Mt. Fuji’.
It is one of the artist’s greatest masterpieces, and well-known even worldwide.
For this work, Katsushika Hokusai chose 36 places from Kanto area to Tokai(東海) and Koshin(甲信) areas, and drew views of Mt. Fuji from each of places, with dynamic contrasts between the mountain on the backgrounds and humans’ lives on the foregrounds.
Mt. Fuji stands conspicuously tall compared with surrounding mountains and hills. So it can be seen from very far.
Out of “Fugaku”’s 36 prints, around a half consists of views from places that are located within modern Tokyo metropolitan 23 wards (東京23区).
In the past Tokyo was called Edo(江戸).
Residents of Edo could see Mt. Fuji in their daily lives, as “Fugaku” shows.
Once upon a time Tokyo had its gift to be able to see the highest mountain in Japan everywhere.
Modern Tokyo has almost lost it, though. It is thanks to modern developments that modern Japanese people have built.
I visited Yamanashi Prefecture and went deep south near Lake Kawaguchi(河口湖).
From there I saw the great Mountain Fuji.
I have seen it many times in pictures and television, of course.
But when I stood in front of the great mountain, we couldn’t help but uttering a voice of admiration and awesomeness.
It was beautiful.
It was covered by white snow even in early summer.
It is a typical ’strato-volcano’, in the course of geographical history erupts again and again and adds layers of ashes taller and taller, and finally has made itself the tallest one in Japan.
It is tall conspicuously in the region, and no mountain can prevent it from being seen from its skirt.
Japan has a lot of volcanoes, but I think any of them can be compared with Mt. Fuji for its beauty.
Seeing the mountain, I found that Mt. Fuji is really unique, and the sacred one in Japan.
The mountain is beautiful.
But unfortunately, towns are not.
Towns we visited for my business are full of industrialized constructions made of iron and concrete.
They are really what we can see in any cities and towns of modern Japan.
It was disappointing that disgusting buildings stood in front of Mt. Fuji and artificial ugliness much spoiled natural beautifulness.
- It’s beautiful. It’s rare in Japan, or even in the world!
- And it’s rare phenomenon that residents spoil such a rare natural beauty to such a nasty point.
- Japan can no more drive itself with only old industries. It should try more to vitalize new industries such as tourist industry.
- These towns must try to build themselves in a manner to fit Mt. Fuji’s natural beauty. This great mountain deserves tourism, and its potential attractiveness hasn’t fully been developed yet.
- We are Japanese, and even we feel magnificent when we stand in front of Mt. Fuji. Why foreign people don’t feel the same and enjoy it, if we develop its beauty more and PR it worldwide?
I and my business partner Sumida talked so with each other, seeing Mt. Fuji from a station.
You foreigners might have had a chance to see Mt. Fuji, from a skyscraper in Tokyo or while going on a trip by Tokaido Shinkansen express train.
But I’d like to tell you that its beauty deserves more staying and enjoying than only taking one or two glimpses from remote places.
We think Japan should try more to develop its tourism, in a way not in the past but more sophisticated and, especially, in a way to preserve indigenous natural beauty, and even enhance it.
Japan must strive more to attract foreign people (as well as Japanese themselves, of course) and let them enjoy its beauty they should have.
It is my impression when I visited Yamanashi and Mt. Fuji this June.
(Oda Mitsuo, the president of Asia noTofu)
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