Ancient Fujiko cult in Tokyo’s m

Mount Fuji has always been regarded as a sacred mountain, but for much of their history, the Japanese have been content to admire the iconic peak from afar. The only people interested in actually climbing it were the mountain-loving followers of Shugendo, (修験道 "the way of self-discipline"), a sect of mountain ascetics.However, in the early years of the Edo period (1603–1868), a cult called Fujiko (富士講) arose around the mountain. It was founded by a Shinto priest called Hasegawa Kakugyo (1541–1646), and it turned the ascent of Mount Fuji into a religious rite and duty.