Konohanasakuya-hime is the goddess of Mount Fuji and all volcanoes in Japanese mythology; she is also the blossom-princess and symbol of delicate earthly life. She is often considered an avatar of Japanese life, especially since her symbol is the '' sakura'' (cherry blossom).

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

shrines have been built on Mount Fuji for Sakuya-hime, collectively known as the Asama or Sengen Shrines. It is believed that she will keep Mount Fuji from erupting, but shrines to her at Kirishima have been repeatedly destroyed by

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

eruptions. She is also known for having torn up the

Yatsugatake Mountains The are a volcanic mountain range on the border between Nagano Prefecture and Yamanashi Prefecture on the island of Honshū in Japan. Description The mountain range consists of two volcanic groups, Northern Yatsugatake Volcanic Group and S ...

, because it was higher than Fujiyama.

Name and etymology

Konohanasakuya-hime or Konohananosakuya-hime ( 木花咲耶姫 or 木花開耶姫; lit. "'' herrytree blossom blooming princess''" (''princess'', or ''lady of high birth'' explains

hime is the Japanese word for princess or a lady of higher birth. Daughters of a monarch are actually referred to by other terms, e.g. {{nihongo3, , 王女, Ōjo, literally king's daughter, even though ''Hime'' can be used to address ''Ōjo''. ...

; her name also appears in a shorter form as "''Sakuya-hime''", and she is also called ''Sengen''))

Myths

Ninigi and Sakuya-hime

Sakuya-hime met Ninigi on the seashore and they fell in love; Ninigi asked Ohoyamatsumi, the father of Sakuya-hime for her hand in marriage. Oho-Yama proposed his older daughter, Iwa-Naga-hime, instead, but Ninigi had his heart set on Sakuya-hime. Oho-Yama reluctantly agreed and Ninigi and Ko-no-hana married. Because Ninigi refused Iwa-Naga, the rock-princess, human lives are said to be short and fleeting, like the ''sakura'' blossoms, instead of enduring and long lasting, like stones. Sakuya-hime became pregnant in just one night, causing suspicion in Ninigi. He wondered if this was the child of another

kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

. Sakuya-hime was enraged at Ninigi's accusation and entered a doorless hut, which she then set fire to, declaring that the child would not be hurt if it were truly the offspring of Ninigi. Inside the hut, Ko-no-hana had three sons,

Hoderi , in Japanese mythology and folklore, was a deity of the bounty of the sea and enchanted fisherman. He is called in the '' Kojiki'', and or in the '' Nihon Shoki''. In Japanese mythology, he appears with his younger brother Yamasachi-hiko ( ...

Hosuseri Hosuseri is a god that appears in Japanese mythology. Second child of Ninigi-no-Mikoto and Konohanasakuya-hime. He is considered to be the great-uncle of Emperor Jimmu (the first Emperor of Japan). Overview The name Honosusori appears only in ...

and

Hoori , also known as , is a figure in Japanese mythology, the third and youngest son of and the blossom princess . He is one of the ancestors of the Emperors of Japan as the grandfather of Emperor Jimmu. He is also known as . Mythology Hoori's leg ...

Yosoji's Camellia Tree

According to legend around the 11th century, a small village in Suruga Province named Kamiide was struck by

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

epidemic. In the village there lived a young boy named Yosoji and his mother who was infected by the disease. To cure his mother Yosoji went to a fortune teller. The fortune teller told him to give his mother water from a small stream near Mount Fuji. Fuji goddess flies

The next day Yosoji decided to go to the river but then stumbled upon three paths. Not knowing which one to take, a young girl in white came towards Yosoji from the forest and guided him to the stream. Yosoji scooped up water from the stream and gave it to his mother to drink. Days later Yosoji went back to the section where the three paths meet where he saw the girl in white again. She told him to come back in three days, she will meet him. And it will take five trips to treat the villagers. Five trips later Yosoji’s mother was healed and so were many other villagers. The villagers thanked him, but he knew that he owned it all to the girl in white. So he went back to the stream to give thanks to the women in white. However, he found that the stream was completely dried up and the girl was nowhere to be seen so Yosoji prayed that the girl would reveal herself, and thank her for her actions. The girl appeared before him and Yosoji said that he wished to tell her how deeply grateful he was to her and he wished to know who she was so he could tell the villagers who to thank. The woman in white said who she was is not important and said farewell to Yosoji. She then swung a branch of

camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controv ...

over her head and a cloud from Mount Fuji came down and picked her up. That is when Yosoji realized the woman was none other than the Goddess of Mount Fuji.

References

External Links

* - Official homepage of the Asama shrines near Mount Fuji {{jmyth navbox long Japanese goddesses Nature goddesses Shinto kami Mountain goddesses Mount Fuji Volcano goddesses Fuji worship