Hitoana (volcanic cave)

Fuji, and once played an important role as a place for ascetic practices of the Fuji faith.

Hitoana is located approximately 12 km west of the center of Mt. Fuji, and exists on the edge of Mt. Inuryo, a part of Mt.

The main cave of Jinka Cave is 1.5 meters high, 3 meters wide, and about 80 meters deep. It is called “Jinka” because of the ribs and breast-like rock projections on the cave walls created by lava.

A narrower hole extends from the innermost part, which according to legend, leads to Enoshima Island in Kanagawa Prefecture.

In addition, the Jinnana Fuji-ko Ruins are a group of historical sites related to the Fuji-ko religion located in Jinnana. This site has been designated as a national historic site and is also part of the World Heritage Site “Mt.

Manhole Cave

The cave is a lava cave created by the eruption of Mt. Inside the cave are a shrine, three monumental towers, and four stone Buddha statues. The entrance to the cave is located at the southwestern end, and it curves in the shape of a U-shape at the center.

There is a shrine about 20 meters from the entrance and a lava pillar about 5 meters in diameter in the center before the 30-meter bend.

It is believed that the cave is about 80 to 90 meters to the innermost part of the cave, beyond which it is blocked.

Some sections of the cave have safety measures in place and are accessible, but prior application is required to enter the cave. For reasons of cultural property protection and safety, please do not enter the caves without permission.

Fuji worship

It is said that a man named Kakugyo practiced asceticism in the 16th and 17th centuries, received revelations from Asama Daibosatsu (Great Bodhisattva), and died there.

According to Azuma Kagami, this is the place where Asama Daibosatsu (Asama Great Goddess of Mercy) was said to reside.

Since Kakugyo considered this place to be a pure land, followers of the Fuji-ko sect came to revere it as a holy place, and pilgrimages and ascetic practices were conducted there.

It is believed that many followers used the Yoshida-guchi trail and the Nakamichi Oukan, which connects Yoshida and Hitoana. However, with the decline of Fuji-ko, the construction of the monumental pagoda does not seem to have taken place since 1964.

Ruins of the Fuji-ko Ruins in Jinano-Fuji

The Hitonana Fuji Ko Site is located within the precincts of the Hitonana Sengen Shrine, and includes a lava cave “Hitonana” approximately 83 meters long and over 200 monumental towers erected by Fuji Ko members.

The Koshu Highway and the Gunnai Road (Jinkan Road) leading to the Gunnai region of Yamanashi Prefecture passed through here historically.

The Azuma Kagami (Azuma Mirror) describes the exploration of manhole, which was later compiled as “Jinana Zoshi” and widely spread in the early modern period.

In the same book, the manhole is described as “Asama Daibosatsu no Gozaijo,” which suggests that the manhole was an important place related to the belief in Mt.

Hasegawa Kakugyo, the founder of the Fuji Ko sect in Edo (Tokyo), is said to have called the man cave a Pure Land in 1558, practiced asceticism inside, and received revelations from Sengen Dainichigami.

His teachings spread after the middle of the Edo period (1603-1867), and many Fuji-kōgō were formed, especially in Edo (Tokyo).

Since Kakugyo died at Jinko’s cave, Jinko’s cave was regarded as the Pure Land of Fuji Ko, and became the object of religious devotion.

Many members visited Jinkan for pilgrimage and ascetic practice, and memorials and monuments were sometimes erected to commemorate their predecessors.

Fuji, and it is said that the followers of Fuji-ko made pilgrimages to Jinkan and stayed overnight there after climbing Mt. Even today, stone Buddha statues believed to have been made by the people of that time are enshrined in the cave.

Interestingly, the Higashiguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine is located approximately 12 km east of the center of Mt.

There is a monument near the manhole that reads “Fuji Sengen Daijin” (Great Goddess of Fuji Sengen), and in the forest a short distance away is Dainichi-do (Hall of the Great Sun). There is also a monument to Asama-Daikami inside the man cave.

According to Azuma Kagami (Azuma Kagami, a history book written in the Kamakura period), when the shogun Minamoto no Yorike conducted a scroll hunt in a hunting cave in Fuji, he had the man cave investigated by Nitta Tadatsune (新田忠常).

The book then describes an incident in which Tadatsune encountered a disaster in the cave, and stated, “This is the place where the Great Bodhisattva Sengen resides.

Hitonana Sengen Shrine:

One of the many Sengen shrines in Japan, its official name is Sengen Shrine without the “jinana” (human hole).

It is said that there used to be a Koukyu-ji Temple (Koukyu-ji Temple) Dainichi-do Hall in Jinkan. This temple was an institution that cared for ascetic practitioners and was managed by the Akaike family.

The Akaike family managed the man cave and the surrounding area, guided visitors, took care of ascetic practitioners, awarded money and red seals, and erected monumental pagodas.

In the early Meiji period (1868-1912), due to the Shinto/Buddhist Separation Order and the abolition of Buddhism, Koukonji Temple was closed and the Hitonana Sengen Shrine was built in its place.

However, in 1942, with the opening of the Boys Tank School, the mountains and fields in the area were confiscated as military training grounds, and Hitoana Sengen Shrine was relocated and restored along with the surrounding residents.

With the decline of the Fuji Koshu, the monumental tower was not erected after 1964. The current shrine pavilion was erected in 2001.

The main deity is Konohananosakuyabime as well as Kakugyo and Tokugawa Ieyasu, as in the case of the Fuji Hongu Sengen Taisha.

It is viewed by some as a shrine that manages the man cave. The shrine used to be a temple before the Meiji era, and Dainichido still remains on the grounds.

It is said that there are more than 300 tombstones in the precincts of the shrine, where many followers of Fuji Ko are buried. In addition to Kakugyo’s tombstone, there are also many tombstones related to Shokuyuki Shinroku and Murakami Mitsuakiyo.

It is said that the temple was founded in 1648, and that in 1665, Koukonji Temple was rebuilt by Nichikoh II and Kohshin III of Fuji Koko.
In 1942, with the opening of the Boys Tank School, the mountain fields in the district became a training ground and Sengen Shrine was relocated.
The shrine was reconstructed in 1954.
In 2001, the current shrine building was erected.
On June 3, 2010, the 450th Anniversary Grand Festival was held by the followers of the Fuji Sect to commemorate the 450th anniversary of the start of Kakugyo’s ascetic practice on Mt.

Group of Monument Pagodas

Fuji Kyo followers erected 232 monumental towers in the precincts of Jinnana Sengen Shrine. 232 monumental towers were erected by Fuji Kyo followers in the mid-18th century, when Fuji Kyo flourished mainly in Edo (Tokyo) and Jinnana became a sacred place (the Pure Land of the West).

Since the end of the 18th century, Fuji followers in the Kanto region, mainly in present-day Tokyo, Saitama, and Chiba prefectures, erected “tombstone memorials,” “prayer dedication monuments,” and “memorial monuments in honor of Fuji followers.

These monuments were erected in clusters according to each “branch” (ko), and their inscriptions provide information on the history of each ko and its constituent areas.

While the names of places in downtown Edo account for nearly 60% of these monuments, the names of places in Shizuoka Prefecture can be found on only one of the monuments.

The oldest of these monumental towers, located in the cave, was erected in 1664, before the composition of Mt.

The group of monuments and pagodas also includes memorials to Kakugyo: 35 prayer dedication monuments, 7 memorials for commendation and prayer, 188 tombstone memorials, and 1 guidepost.

These monuments, which were erected in a grouped form for each group, provide information on the history of each group and its constituent areas. The monument groupings are currently closed to the public.