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Konohanasakuya-hime
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Konohanasakuya-hime commonly known as Konohana (ko-no-hana), in Japanese mythology, is the blossom-princess and symbol of delicate earthly life. She is the daughter of the mountain god Ohoyamatsumi. She is often considered an avatar of Japanese life, especially since her symbol is the sakura, or cherry blossom.
She is the wife of Ninigi. She met the god on the seashore and they fell in love; Ninigi asked Oho-Yama for her hand in marriage.
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Encyclopedia
Konohanasakuya-hime commonly known as Konohana (ko-no-hana), in Japanese mythology, is the blossom-princess and symbol of delicate earthly life. She is the daughter of the mountain god Ohoyamatsumi. She is often considered an avatar of Japanese life, especially since her symbol is the sakura, or cherry blossom.
She is the wife of Ninigi. She met the god on the seashore and they fell in love; Ninigi asked Oho-Yama for her hand in marriage. Oho-Yama proposed his older daughter, Iha-Naga, instead, but Ninigi had his heart set on Ko-no-hana. Oho-Yama reluctantly agreed and Ninigi and Ko-no-hana married. Because Ninigi refused Iha-Naga, the rock-princess, human lives are said to be short and fleeting, like the sakura blossoms, instead of enduring and long lasting, like stones.
Ko-no-hana became pregnant in just one night, causing suspicion in Ninigi. He wondered if this was the child of another kami. Ko-no-hana was enraged at Ninigi's accusation and entered a doorless hut where she then set fire to it. She vowed that the child would not be hurt if it were truly the offspring of the heavenly kami Ninigi. In the hut, Ko-no-hana had three sons, Hoderi, Hosuseri and Hoori. She is the goddess of Mount Fuji.
Mount Fuji, called Fuji San by the Japanese, rises 3776m in Japan. Fuji's magnificent crater is 800m wide and has a depth of 250m. It has been estimated that Mount Fuji developed 25,000 years ago. The name "Fuji" is thought to have been derived from the ainu word "Fuchi" meaning "fire" or "deity of fire." Mount Fuji has shown its fiery nature seventeen times since its first noted eruption in 864. It is believed that Fuji's eruptions are an expression of love from a former governor to an immortal princess. (These excerpts and others are from "Sacred Mountains of the World," by Edwin Baldwin, University of California Press, 1997):
"One day an old couple with no children found a beautiful baby girl in a bamboo grove near the foot of Mount Fuji. They named her Kaguya Hime, or 'She who Lights up the Area.' The girl grew up to become the most beautiful girl in the region, attracting the attention of the local governor, who made her his wife. After a number of years of blissful marriage, she told her husband that she was, in fact, the Immortal lady of Mount Fuji and that she was returning to the Palace of the immortals on top to the sacred mountain. To alleviate his distress, she gave him a magic mirror in which to see her image and then she vanished. Unable to bear life without her, he followed her up to the crater of Fuji. Finding no trace of her and having nowhere else to go, he clutched the mirror to his breast and leaped off a precipice. The love that burst from his heart set fire to the mirror, and the smoke that rose from it is the smoke that used to issue from the summit of Fuji itself." It is still believed that you may be able to see Kaguya Hime walking through the mists from time to time.
Shrines have been built, at Mount Fuji, for the goddess Konohana Sakuya Hime. It is believed that she will keep Mount Fuji from erupting. "In A.D. 806 a local official built a shrine near the foot of the volcano to keep it from erupting. The priests assigned the task of pacifying the mountain apparently neglected their duties because Fuji erupted with great violence in 864, causing much damage in a nearby province. The governor of that province blamed the priests for failing to perform the proper rites and constructed another shrine in his own territory, where he could make sure everything was done correctly. A fiery god of the mountain became at a later date the more peaceful Shinto goddess of Mount Fuji-- Konohana Sakuya Hime-- the Goddess of Flowering Trees."
"Konohana Sakuya Hime originally had little or no connection with Mount Fuji. Sometime between the 14th and 16th centuries, the belief arose among the people of the region that she would protect them from eruptions of the volcano as she had her newborn son from the flames of the burning bower."
Konohana is now the principal goddess of Mount Fuji. Members of Fuji-ko have altars in their own home in which they worship Konohana Sakuya Hime. This group also lights a torch for Konohana Sakuya Hime at the fire ceremony at Fuji-Yoshida.
"According to the 'Kojiki', the great 8th century A.D. compilation of Japanese mythology, Konohana Sakuya Hime married a god who grew suspicious of her when she became pregnant shortly after their wedding. To prove her fidelity to her husband, she entered a benign bower and miraculously gave birth to a son, unscathed by the surrounding flames. The fire ceremony at Fuji-Yyoshida recalls this story as a means of protecting the town from fire and promoting easy childbirth among women."
Mount Fuji, in Japanese culture, represents beauty and perfection. It not only draws tourists and mountain climbers, but it embodies the spirit of a nation. Its no wonder that this magnificent mountain helped shape Japanese culture.
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