EVENTS EDITORIAL Mt. Fuji—Beautiful, Destructive, Symbolic 56 One of my first and favorite memories as a JET is attending the Yoshida Fire Festival in Fujiyoshida City, seated on the northeastern slope of Mt Fuji, or Fujisan, in Yamanashi. For the last 500 years, Fujiyoshidans have appealed to Mt Fuji’s kami to spare them from pyroclastic activity for another year. For my husband and me, being a part of this festival was our first experience of a Japan we had only read about. A dichotomous Japan, one steeped in tradition, but still knowing how to throw a giant weekend-long party. A Japan that, no matter how much rain fell that weekend, kept its (literally) hundreds of blazes alive. Not only was it our first matsuri, but it was also our first venture out of the Kanto plain into the mountains, our first time to enjoy the spoils of a Japanese taco truck, speak Nihonglish with drunken, mikoshi-carrying ojiisan, and experience a Strong Zero hangover. Just as memorable was what we did not see: Fujisan herself. We visited the beautiful Sengen Shrine at her base and asked nicely, but she remained an elusive temptress, keeping herself shrouded in clouds after the rain stopped. We would visit twice more before having a good view. Mt Fuji’s last eruption was in 1707, following a magnitude 8.6 earthquake, yet scientists today consider it an active volcano. Some like to remind the public every few months that the Tokyoarea Tokai fault line is well overdue for its next major quake, and they often mention Fujisan in the same breath.
Since 2011’s Great East Japan Earthquake, Mt Fuji has received extra attention. The volcano lays on the edge of a subduction zone―where one tectonic plate slides beneath another― leaving it vulnerable to strong seismic activity. In 2012, a threeyear survey by the University of Tokyo reported their discovery of a long-buried, 30-kilometer fault line directly beneath the volcano. A quake directly beneath Mt Fuji may energize its magma chambers into eruption, or could trigger a collapse, sending massive, muddy landslides toward nearby towns. Painfully aware of the area’s dramatic geography, Yamanashi, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka’s prefectural governments are working together to make an escape plan for Mt Fuji’s next violent event, be it with lava, mud, or both. Up to 750,000 may have to evacuate in the event of a very large eruption—not including the 10,000 climbers Fujisan sees on an average day during its climbing season. Mt Fuji made headlines this summer when UNESCO added it to its World Heritage Sites list, of which many Japanese people take immense pride. Through the years, Fuji has inspired countless works of art and helped form contemporary Japanese culture. The juxtaposition of Mt Fuji’s influence and beauty against its nearcertain destruction of itself and everything around it is another layer of that famous Japanese paradigm: nature is beautiful because it is fleeting. It is why we observe hanami’ and even why the yakuza traditionally get tattoos of sakura blossoms. I did not recognize it at the time of the festival, but Fujiyoshidans clearly understand what volatile machinery they live with. Do you live near Fuji and want to share your feelings? Or just want to ask a question or talk about events in Japan? Hit me up at connect.events@ajet.net
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September Issue 2013