Fuji (富士山) – A Holy Mountain

 

Mount Fuji and cherry blossom trees (water color on paper, June 2018)

 

Mount Fuji is one of three holy mountains in Japan and also at 3,776.24 m (12,389 ft) the highest one.

It lies about 100 kilometers (60 mi) south-west of Tokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji’s exceptionally symmetrical cone, which is snow-capped for about 5 months a year, is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and photographs.

It´s also an object of pilgrimage, tourism and mountain climbing. However, a well-known Japanese saying suggests that a wise person will climb Mt. Fuji once in their lifetime, but only a fool would climb it twice. 😉

I´ve always been very interested in all things Asian, even used to dress in my mum´s kimono-styled dressing gown when I was very little, put on some of her make-up, and pulled at the corners of my eyes to make them look more asiatic while singing and dancing in what I was thinking a very Japanese like manner. 😉

I no longer do this of course, but I like to read about Japanese culture and art or watch documentaries and movies, “Memoirs of a Geisha” by Arthur Golden, “The Last Samurai” with Tom Cruise or “47 Ronin” with Keanu Reeves come to my mind.

And of course, I dream of visiting the “Land of the Rising Sun” one day, though I very much doubt that I will be climbing Mount Fuji then. But I would like to paint it in natura instead of from a photograph like I did with today´s watercolor.

 

P.S. I want to apologize for the crudely drawn Japanese characters in my painting! I´m well aware that they will look ghastly to any one more familiar with them than I am.