Every country has its own symbolic buildings, such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Forbidden City in China, while Mount Fuji in Japan, as a symbol of Japanese spirit and civilization, has become a place for tourists to yearn for. Mt. Fuji is located in the south-central part of Japan’s main island of Honshu, about 80 kilometers east of Tokyo. It straddles Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures in Japan. Mount Fuji is 3775.63 meters high, 125 kilometers around the base, and covers an area of about 1,200 square kilometers.
Mount Fuji is a beautiful and solemn sacred mountain with a kind of natural charm. It is one of the classics of Japanese spirit and culture. Mount Fuji has been the object of praise for literati throughout the ages, and it is also one of the sources of inspiration and artistic sense for these literati. As an isolated stratovolcano rising above lakes and oceans, Mount Fuji has been a source of inspiration for poetry, essays and works of art, and everyone who comes to Mount Fuji is struck by its beauty.
Rising from the sky above villages and tree-lined seas and lakes, Mount Fuji’s beauty has long been a target for pilgrims and an inspiration for artists and poets. As we all know, as the highest peak in Japan, Mount Fuji straddles two prefectures in Japan and is currently the largest dormant active volcano in Japan. It was approved to be entered into the World Heritage List in 2013. In the public perception, the ownership of national scenic spots is generally owned by the state, but you know what? The world famous Mount Fuji is actually private land. To be exact, the parts of the mountain above 3,360 meters are owned by individuals, and the Japanese government pays huge rent to the owners of the land.
The ownership of Mount Fuji can be traced back to the Tokugawa Ieyasu family of the Warring States Period of Japan, which runs through the entire history of Japan. The owner of Mount Fuji was the ancestor of the Tokugawa Ieyasu family. In 1606, Tokugawa Ieyasu donated Mount Fuji to a local temple, the Asama Shrine.
It wasn’t until the Meiji Restoration, which gave Japan a sensational new look, that a new emperor decreed a new land policy: “All land belongs to the family,” and Mt. Fuji became state-owned. An overconfident emperor launched an unimpressive World War II, which resulted in Japan becoming a colony of the United States, and U.S. interference in Japan’s internal affairs eventually abolished the emperor’s system of state ownership of land.
However, the Japanese government refused to return Mount Fuji. In response to the emperor’s action, Asama Shrine fought for the ownership of Mount Fuji with the Japanese government for 30 years. In 1974, the Supreme Court of Japan granted Asama some of the land on Mount Fuji, but the Japanese government did nothing and eventually returned the ownership of the 3,360 meters above sea level to Asama in 2004. Since then, Mount Fuji as a symbol of Japan, anyone who comes to Japan is bound to go to Mount Fuji feel the momentum of Mount Fuji, but because of the altitude of 3360 meters above the Shinto Shrine, so can not see the full picture of Mount Fuji.
The Japanese government decided to lease the top part of Mount Fuji so that tourists can enjoy the full view of the mountain, as thousands of tourists visit Mount Fuji every year. So the Japanese government pays huge rent to Asama Shrine every year. While the rent is huge, it is nothing compared to the popularity of the visitors. Mount Fuji is a dormant, active volcano, feared and revered by those who live below it. It has been 300 years since the volcano last erupted, and is now on a 300-year eruption cycle.
Although the Japanese government pays a hefty rent to Asama Shrine every year, visitors don’t have to worry about the cost of visiting Mount Fuji. Yes, it is laudable enough that it is free to visitors. No one can resist the charm of Mount Fuji, especially the cherry blossoms in the background of the snowy mountains, and every visitor to Japan makes Mount Fuji the most important part of their trip. Whether Mount Fuji is state-owned or privately owned does not affect the people who come here to appreciate its beauty, the beauty of Mount Fuji is known to all. And when visitors climb to the top of Mount Fuji remember that we are standing on private land.
