Mt. Fuji as a sacred site: On historical change in Fuji-kou and Fuji-zuka in the 23 wards of Tokyo

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to determine how people come to have common feelings toward the landscape and how they change with time. In the 23 wards of Tokyo, many people organized groups called Fuji-kou, and the members visited Mt. Fuji. They built imitations of Mt. Fuji near their residences called Fuji-zuka. We can regard Fuji-zuka as a consequence of the common feelings that the Fuji-kou had toward Mt. Fuji. Those common feelings changed gradually. This paper divides time into three periods: 1779-1867, 1868-1945, and 1946-1998.