LORD FUJI
“Where on the one hand is the province of Kai,
And on the other the province of Suruga,
Right in the midst between them
Stands out the high peak of Fuji.
The very clouds of Heaven dread to approach it;
Even the soaring birds reach not its summit in their flight.
Its burning fire is quenched by the snow;
The snow that falls is melted by the fire.
No words may tell of it, no name know I that fits it,
But a wondrous Deity it surely is.
Of Yamato, the Land of Sunrise,
It is the Peace-Giver, it is the God, it is the Treasure.
On the peak of Fuji, in the land of Suruga,
Never weary I of gazing.”
Japanese poet, eighth century.
(“Japanese Literature,” by W. G. Aston.)