Mount Fuji is Japan’s highest peak and a famous stratovolcano near Tokyo.
It rises to 3,776 metres above sea level and has a remarkably symmetrical cone. The mountain stands on Honshu, Japan’s largest island, about 100 kilometres southwest of Tokyo. Its visible form was shaped by repeated volcanic activity, with the present cone developing over older volcanic structures.
Mount Fuji last erupted from December 1707 to February 1708, in the Hōei eruption. Ash from that event reached Edo, modern Tokyo. Despite its volcanic history, Fuji is currently classified as dormant rather than extinct.
The mountain is also a major cultural symbol. Japanese artists, poets and pilgrims have celebrated it for centuries, and its image appears prominently in Hokusai’s Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. Fuji was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013 as a cultural site.