On the Etymology of the Name of Mt. Fuji

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Mt. Fuji (Fujisan, 富士山), the highest mountain in Japan (3,776 m.), straddles the border of modern Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures, but in Ancient Japan it belonged to Suruga province (駿河國), which corresponds to the central part of present-day Shizuoka prefecture. This majestically beautiful mountain, which is a perfectly shaped conical volcano, has become a symbol of modern Japan.

Mt. Fuji as seen from Hakone

author’s photo (may 27, 2012)

Nowadays we know many things about Mt. Fuji, such as the history of its worship as the body of a Shintō deity, its historical eruptions, its vegetation and natural habitat, the history of its climbing, etc. For the purposes of this article, the most important information is that Mt. Fuji is nowadays a dormant volcano (MdJ kyūkazan 休火山). The last historically recorded eruption occurred in 1707 AD, but before this date, it was quite active. The first historically attested eruption was on the sixth day of the seventh lunar month of the first year of Ten’ō (天應) (July 31, 781 AD). It is recorded in the that on this day Mt. Fuji rained ash, and where the ash had fallen, all leaves withered (SNG 36.204). Between 781 and 1707 AD Mt. Fuji erupted at least ten times (or, this is what historical sources tell us). So the last four hundred years have been very peaceful, but Mt. Fuji is far from being dead, and it can awake any time.

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