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For Japanese people, Mt. Fuji is not merely a beautiful landscape, but a sacred place that has been revered since ancient times. It is an object of worship rooted in Japan's major religion, Shinto, forming a deep cultural and spiritual background. When we look at the beautiful Mt. Fuji, we feel it is a special existence that fills us with such awe that we naturally want to press our hands together in prayer. Pressing one's hands together is clearly an act directed at something spiritually higher than oneself, and this is exactly what mountain worship (Sangaku Shinko) brings about.

Mountain worship itself is not solely directed at Mt. Fuji; it encompasses a sense of gratitude and reverence for the mountains that surround us in our daily lives. However, Mt. Fuji remains a truly exceptional mountain among them.

Its perfect silhouette and its varying expressions through the four seasons have stimulated the Japanese sense of beauty for centuries, giving birth to countless works of literature and art. From the Waka poems collected in the Hyakunin Isshu (a classic poetry anthology), to Haiku recited since ancient times, and paintings such as Katsushika Hokusai's Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji—these all demonstrate how deeply Mt. Fuji is intertwined with our traditional seasons and literature.

The sight of Mt. Fuji, sitting massively with its wide foothills, is a symbol of unwavering stability and peace. To all the expats and foreigners living in Japan—who may feel anxious in a foreign land and find yourselves burdened by the double stress of work and family in your busy daily lives—nothing would make me happier as a Japanese person than if you could understand and experience, even just a little, the Japanese sensation of having your heart gently calmed and reset when catching a glimpse of this mountain.

The other day on our blog, we shared an article about Shoman (Lesser Fullness), which is one of the 24 solar terms. As the seasons change, Mt. Fuji shows us a variety of faces: floating in the spring haze, the powerful "Red Fuji" in summer, the striking contrast against the clear autumn sky, and its majestic snowcap in winter. How Mt. Fuji has been composed in connection with the feeling of the seasons is beautifully preserved in numerous Haiku poems.

Just as Japanese people since ancient times have calmed their minds and felt a sense of harmony with nature by looking at Mt. Fuji, perhaps we, too, in our busy modern lives, need a moment to gaze at the mountain and simply slow down.