Fuji Omuro Sengen-Jinja Shrine 富士御室浅間神社全体概要

Ascetics continued to visit the original shrine, joined from the seventeenth century by streams of Fujiko pilgrims. However, after the Fuji-Subaru Line began a direct service to the fifth station in 1964, visitor numbers fell dramatically. To protect the now seldom-visited original shrine from damage and fire, it was moved to a location near the village shrine in 1973. Only the crumbling prayer hall (haiden) still remains on the slopes.

An Architectural Marvel

The shrine is closely associated with local daimyo. In the sixteenth century, Takeda Shingen, the lord of nearby Kai province, worshipped there. The main hall of the village shrine that still stands today was donated by a Tokugawa branch family in 1612, shortly after the start of the Edo period (1603–1868). It preserves the Shinto architecture of the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568–1600), with flowing karahafu gables and roof shingles made of cypress bark.

Unusually for a Sengen shrine, the structure is oriented so that worshippers have their backs to the mountain’s peak. This is because the mountain is believed to descend each day to take up residence inside the shrine.

The statues flanking the torii are much smaller than those at other shrines. According to legend, Mt. Fuji shrank them as punishment for dallying with Benzaiten, the goddess enshrined on Unoshima island.

Yabusame: Mounted Archery

On April 29, the shrine hosts an exhibition of mounted archery known as yabusame. Today’s yabusame traditions date back to the first Kamakura shogun, Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199), who promoted it as a pastime among his samurai. The shrine’s yabusame exhibition used to take place at the mountain location called the baba (riding ground), but is now held in a park near the shrine.