Komitake-Jinja Shrine

Komitake-jinja stands behind the restaurants at the Fuji-Subaru Line fifth station, on the actual peak of Mt. Komitake, an ancient mountain largely engulfed by Mt. Fuji's lava flows 14,000 years ago. The shrine enshrines Iwanaga-hime and is said to be guarded by tengu, fierce part-avian mythical beings associated with mountain peaks. According to legend, they gifted the shrine with an enormous axe on the grounds that visitors are welcome to attempt lifting. A 1847 pilgrimage guidebook lists the shrine as the 'middle shrine' on Mt. Fuji's northern pilgrimage network, where climbers could once obtain certificates, numbered hiking sticks, and stamped clothing.