Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine

The Kitaguchi Hongu Sengen Shrine, one of the strongest power spots in Yamanashi Prefecture, was built in the 40th year of the reign of Emperor Keiko (110), when he passed through Otsuka Hill on his eastern expedition to Japan, and was told that 'Fuji, with its beautifully spread skirts in the north, should be worshipped from this place'. In the 50th year of the Emperor Keiko (120), a shrine was built to worship the deity Sengen and the deity Nihon no Muson as well as a place to 'worship' Mt Fuji.
Fuji erupted in 781 (Ten'ou 1). In 788 (Enryaku 7), Ki Toyoteni Asaomi, Lord of Kai, used divination to quell the eruption and built a shrine to the north on Otsuka Hill, where the present shrine is located.
Around the end of the Heian period (794-1185), the volcanic activity of Mt Fuji subsided and many ascetic practitioners began to climb the mountain, and from this time onwards, the belief in 'ascent', where one climbs the mountain to practise asceticism, increased from the belief in 'far worship'.
As Shugendo, the way of mountaineering and ascetic practice, spread throughout the country and the Fuji-ko religion emerged and developed, people began to aim for the summit of the mountain through 'ascending worship', which they considered climbing the mountain to be an act of prayer, and the shrine has been named the Kitaguchi Hongu Sengen Shrine as the main shrine of the 'north entrance' (also called Yoshida entrance) of the Fuji mountain trail. The shrine has been named [Kitaguchi Hongu Sengen Shrine] to this day.

Accessible Wheelchair accessible