Fuji-ko - Fujiko

A religious association for Mt. Fuji worship. Gazing up at Mt. Fuji from afar and feeling religious emotion must have existed since ancient times, but in the Middle Ages, Fuji worship was formed in the Kanto and Tokai regions, centered on Shugendo. In the early modern period, Hasegawa Kakugyo formulated the doctrine and organized believers to spread the faith. The main purpose was to worship Mt. Fuji and make donations. Later, Jikigyo Miroku worked to develop the association, appealing widely to townspeople and farmers, mainly in Edo. A guide would gather believers by preaching about the miraculous powers, and the believers would then be led by the guide as they ascended Mt. Fuji. Before the ascent, the members would abate for three or seven days, wear white robes, carry bells and a kongo staff, and chant verses such as "Six senses are purified, the mountain is clear sky." They would then ascend Mount Fuji in groups as monks for training. For those who could not actually climb the mountain, remote worship sites such as Fujizuka mounds were set up within villages. Even today, there are many Fujizuka mounds in the shape of Mount Fuji and stone towers commemorating ascents in the Kanto region, and many of these remain in place names. During the Edo period, the group flourished to the point that it was called the 808 Edo ko, and the sect split into the Shinto faction and the Kosei faction, with the Shinto faction gaining dominance. At the end of the Edo period, the group was oppressed by the shogunate. After the Meiji period, it was reborn as a sect of Shinto, and split into the Fusokyo, Jitsugyokyo, Maruyamakyo, and Fujikyo factions. Since the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 (Taisho 12), the number of lecture societies in Tokyo has drastically decreased. Nowadays, some people climb the mountain individually, including women, and some people dress in traditional clothing.

[Shoji Inoguchi]

"The History of Fuji-ko: Mountain Worship of the Common People of Edo" by Koichiro Iwashina (1983, Meishu Publishing)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

富士山信仰の講社。富士山を遠く仰ぎ見て宗教的な感慨を抱くことは、古くからあったに違いないが、中世には修験道(しゅげんどう)を中心に、関東・東海地方に富士信仰が形成されていた。近世初期に長谷川角行(はせがわかくぎょう)が教義を整え、その布教のために信徒組織をつくった。富士山登拝と寄進がおもな目的である。その後、食行身禄(じきぎょうみろく)が講社の発展を図り、江戸を中心に町人や農民に広く呼びかけた。先達(せんだつ)が霊験(れいげん)を説いて信徒を集め、先達に引率されて富士山に登拝するものである。講中の者は登拝に先だって3日または7日の精進潔斎ののち、白衣を着て鈴と金剛杖(こんごうづえ)を持ち、「六根清浄(ろっこんしょうじょう)お山は晴天」などと唱えながら、行者(ぎょうじゃ)として修行のために富士山に集団登拝する。実際に登山できない人のためには、村内に富士塚などの遙拝(ようはい)所を設けた。関東にはいまも、富士山をかたどった富士塚や、登拝記念の石塔が数多くあり、地名に残ったものが多い。江戸時代には江戸八百八講といわれるほどに栄え、教派は身禄派と光清(こうせい)派に分かれたが、身禄派が優勢になった。江戸時代の末には幕府の弾圧を受けた。明治以後は教派神道として再生し、扶桑(ふそう)教、実行教、丸山教、富士教の諸派に分かれた。1923年（大正12）の関東大震災以後、東京の講社は激減した。現代は個人で登る人もあり、女性も登るが、昔ながらの服装の人もある。

［井之口章次］

『岩科小一郎著『富士講の歴史――江戸庶民の山岳信仰』（1983・名著出版）』

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