Japan contains Mount Fuji, the volcano featured in many Japanese artworks.
Mount Fuji is Japan’s highest mountain, rising to 3,776 metres on Honshu, the country’s largest island. It is a stratovolcano with an exceptionally symmetrical cone, a form created by successive layers of lava, ash, and other volcanic material. The mountain lies west of Tokyo and can be seen from the capital on clear days.
Fuji last erupted in 1707, during the Hōei eruption. Although it is currently dormant, it remains an active volcano in geological terms. The mountain has long been important in Japanese religion, especially traditions associated with pilgrimage and sacred mountains.
Artists represented Fuji in paintings, prints, poetry, and photography. Katsushika Hokusai’s series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, created in the nineteenth century, helped make the mountain an international symbol of Japan. Mount Fuji and its surrounding cultural sites were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013.