Fujizuka: Fuji Mounds Built across Edo
In the late eighteenth century, Fuji-ko confraternities began to build Fujizuka, or Fuji mounds, in the city of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) and the surrounding provinces. These Fujizuka were not just miniaturized models but were thought to be “transplants” (utsushi) of Mt. Fuji that shared the mountain’s spiritual power. They were carefully crafted to display the important landmarks, including the winding trail to the peak and the Ochudo circuit pilgrimage. Unlike the real Mt. Fuji, Fujizuka were open to all, including women.
The first Fujizuka was created by Takada Toshiro, partly as tribute to his late spiritual master, the Fuji-ko leader Jikigyo Miroku (1671–1733). Takada was a landscaper and gardener by trade and sourced igneous rock from the foot of Mt. Fuji to complete his replica on the grounds of a local shrine. It was opened to the public in 1779 and became a minor sensation even among those with no particular Fuji-ko affiliation. Around twenty more Fujizuka were built in the city and its surrounding areas by the end of the Edo period (1603–1868) and around forty more in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.