葛飾北斎　「富嶽三十六景　諸人登山」　浮世絵錦絵　江戸時代

In 1830s Japan, Mount Fuji pilgrimages became immensely popular. The practice was made possible by growing prosperity, as well as by a lottery system called Koh, which enabled even poor citizens to pool their funds for a lucky chance to travel to the sacred mountain. Mount Fuji was an object of worship for the ascetic Shugendō Buddhists, who revered nature like Shinto practitioners, and who lived on and trekked up mountains as spiritual practice. The worship of Mount Fuji and the Asama, or Sengen Shrine, at the foot of the mountain, developed into a popular practice across the nation, with subsidiary shrines and local mountains designated as ritual substitutes for Mount Fuji. The radiant mountain rises 3,776 meters (approximately 13,000 feet) and is the highest in Japan. Many pilgrims climbed the mountain wearing straw hats and sticks, as shown in this print by Katsushika Hokusai.