Fuji
A Mountain in the Making
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $24.99
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- $24.99
Publisher Description
A panoramic history of Japan’s iconic mountain from the Ice Age to the present
Mount Fuji is everywhere recognized as a wonder of nature and enduring symbol of Japan. Yet behind the picture-postcard image is a history filled with conflict and upheaval. Violent eruptions across the centuries wrought havoc and instilled fear. Long an object of worship, Fuji has been inhabited by deities that changed radically over time. It has been both a totem of national unity and a flashpoint for economic and political disputes. And while its soaring majesty has inspired countless works of literature and art, the foot of the mountain is home to military training grounds and polluting industries. Tracing the history of Fuji from its geological origins in the remote past to its recent inscription as a World Heritage Site, Andrew Bernstein explores these and other contradictions in the story of the mountain, inviting us to reflect on the relationships we share with the nonhuman world and one another.
Beautifully illustrated, Fuji presents a rich portrait of one of the world’s most celebrated sites, revealing a mountain forever in the making and offering a meditation on the ability of landscape both to challenge and inspire.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bernstein (Modern Passings), a history professor at Lewis & Clark College, explores in this comprehensive account the role that Mt. Fuji has played in shaping Japanese culture. Contending that "other mountains may be as famous, but none has the combination of material and cultural attributes that makes Fuji such a dominating presence," Bernstein traces the mountain's history from the Ice Age to the present. In premodern Japan, Fuji was seen as "a source of life-giving water and devastating eruptions" as well as "a god of epidemics and a home of immortals." The mountain was central to the development of Buddhism and Shintoism, with shrines and temples built at various elevations around the ninth century. Pilgrimages to the site became a significant source of income for locals, inspiring fierce competition. Bernstein also traces how Fuji evolved from a religious symbol to a national emblem that was designated as a World Heritage Site in 2013. The amount of detail is at times overwhelming—sentences are often bogged down with data and Japanese nomenclature—but Bernstein's perspective on the intersection of geography and culture is illuminating, and the text is richly supplemented with maps and images. This will resonate with those who have a deep interest in Japanese history. Illus.
