Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taisha, Shinto shrine in Fujinomiya, Japan
Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taisha is a Shinto shrine in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, and the head shrine of roughly 1,300 Sengen and Asama shrines across Japan. Its precinct covers about 17,000 m², and the shrine also owns the summit area of Mount Fuji above the eighth station, about 3.85 million m². The main hall, built in 1604 under Tokugawa Ieyasu, is a two-story structure in the sengen-zukuri style, with a hipped-and-gabled roof over a three-bay nagare-zukuri upper hall, covered in cypress bark and painted vermilion.
The shrine was founded in 806 during a period of intense volcanic activity to calm the mountain spirits and prevent further eruptions. This place of worship later became the center of a nationwide network of over 1,300 shrines dedicated to Fuji.
The name Sengen derives from "asama", an old word for volcano, and the shrine is the head of roughly 1,300 Sengen and Asama shrines nationwide. Its main festival on May 5 features yabusame, horseback archery, a tradition traced to Minamoto no Yoritomo's hunting visits. Pilgrims once purified themselves in the Wakutama-ike pond before climbing Mount Fuji.
A 15-minute walk from Fujinomiya Station leads to the shrine, though regular bus connections are also available for those who prefer. The grounds remain accessible year-round, but climbing the mountain itself is only practical during summer months.
The Wakutama Springs on the grounds are classified as a national natural monument and supply the entire region with water from the mountain. The clear spring water emerges directly from the volcanic rock and forms several small ponds between the buildings.
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