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Climbing
Mount FUJI
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Some
people climb mountains just because they're
there. Others do it just for fun or
adventure of it. But some people climb
Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan,
for a completely different reason. These
people belong to a sect, or group, in the
oldest region in Japan-Shinto. For them,
Mount Fuji is a sacred mountain and
climbing it is a holy experience.
Shinto pilgrims wear special clothes to
make a climb. They put on a white tunic-a
kind of coat-and wear straw sandals. They
carry a parasol to protect them from the
sun and a staff to help them climb. They
also cry out prayers, including a prayer
for good weather on the mountain, because
the weather on Mount Fuji isn't always
good for climbing. In winter, a blanket
of snow covers the mountain and makes it
harder to climb. That's why many people
wait until July and August. Then snow
disappears-except at the very top.
Sometimes they also wait until night to
avoid the summer sun.
Climbers can rest and eat in stone huts
along the trail. The half-way point is
known as "the borderline between
heaven and earth." At the top of the
mountain, there's a large crater you can
walk around-for Mount Fuji is a volcano.
There doesn't seem to be danger of an
eruption, though. It's been silent for
more than 150 years, but sometimes steam
comes through cracks in the crater.
To the Japanese, Mount Fuji is known as
Fujiyama or Fuji-San. Fuji can mean
"fire," "no death,"
or "never dying." Yama and san
both mean "mountain." But
whether it's called Mount Fuji, Fuji-yama,
or Fuji-san, it's easy to understand why
this beautiful mountain is sacred to so
many Japanese-especially if you're at the
top of it at sunrise.
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