Beni (crimson) Fuji at Lake YamanakakoEastern area of the Fuji Five LakesCircuitPilgrimageVisiting around sacred water places / 4 At dawn in summer of clear air, as soon as the morning sun hits a silhouette of Fujisan emerging in blue and black, the whole ground of Fujisan gets dyed red and shiny. It is so-called the “Red Fuji” that Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) depicted in his ukiyo-e print “Gaifu Kaisei (South Wind, Clear Sky) ”. It is the moment when Fujisan, changing its appearance constantly even in the day, shows a big change. It is said that red Fuji shines best when viewed from northeast to north of Fujisan, and Lake Yamanakako, a place where we can view red Fuji across the lake, is popular as Mecca of Red Fuji. Fuji-ko followers would have viewed this red Fuji when they made a pilgrimage to Lake Yamanakako long ago. All the lakes at the foot of the mountain were “sacred places” during the time of Fujisan worship. In “Uchihakkai-meguri” as a religious training of Fuji-ko, Lake Yamanakako was enshrined “dragon of Sakuyaku”. As Fuji-ko declined, the name of dragon deity guarding each lake became forgotten. Instead the Fuji Five Lakes began to develop as tourist spots for Fujisan. In particular, Yamanakako developed earlier into a summer retreat, and many villas and recreational houses were built at the lakeside. Engraved were the footprints of literary figures such as Takahama Kyoshi (1874-1959), Tokutomi Soho (1863-1957), and Horiguchi Daigaku (1892-1981). When Kaneko Mitsuharu (1895-1975), a poet, was in evacuation to Hirano in Yamanaka, he awoke to the beauty of Fujisan while overlapping his various feelings during wartime with Fujisan as viewed from the lakeside. He left lyrics in “Five lakes” expressed for each lake surrounding Fujisan. We can see the same Fujisan that both pilgrims of the Edo period (1603 – 1868) and literary masters of the Showa period (1926-1989) would have viewed. The same divine Fuji might be breathing to our depths as we are attracted to its natural phenomenon such as Sakasa (upside-down) Fuji reflected on the surface of lake, Red Fuji in early morning of summer, Beni (crimson) Fuji in midwinter, and Diamond Fuji.24Landscape formed by Fujisan and Lake that has attracted the heart of Japanese people for over 1,000 years.Pure Forest of Harimomi (tiger trail spruce woods) On the way to Lake Yamanakako from Oshino Hakkai springs, there is a place where a rare forest spreads that Fujisan formed. Harimomi is a Japanese indigenous fir and the tallest tree stands 30m high. The pure forest in the mountain was formed isolated only on the Takamarubi lava flow ejected from Fujisan. The trees being about 250 years old, standing 20-26m high are deemed 30,000 in total number, being the largest scale despite declined due to withering loss. It has been preserved as the only pure forest in the world. It is a nationally designated Natural Monument.LakeYamanakako
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