Mountains, especially volcanoes, have long held spiritual significance for many religions and cultures around the world. They are seen as places close to gods and as symbols of cultural identity. Two important mountains are Mount Sinai, where God is said to have given Moses the Ten Commandments in the Bible, and Mount Fuji in Japan, which is considered a sacred symbol of nature in Shinto and is associated with both male and female deities. The document explores the mythology and religious significance surrounding several mountains and volcanoes and how their eruptions have impacted human history.

1. The Spiritual Element

3. Holy Mountains

4. Mount Sinai

5. In Egypt

6. Maybe Saudi Arabia?

7. Book of Exodus

8. Important to both Jews and Christians

9. God gives laws on the mountain

10. Ten Commandments

11. Arc of the Covenant

12. Indie Jones

13. Disney Sea

14. Message from God

15. 40 days on the mountain

16. Mount Sinai also important in Islam

17. Jabal Al-nour

18. Important in the story of Mohammed

19. Sacred cave on the mountain

20. Mount Olympus

21. Greece

22. Twelve Olympian Gods

23. Zeus/Jupiter

24. Mount Etna also important in Greek
mythology

25. Hara Berezaiti -- Zoroastrianism

26. Legendary (not real) mountain

27. Mount Kailash in Tibet

28. Mount Kailash – never been climbed!

29. Too sacred to climb!

30. The home of Shiva – the Hindu God

31. Mount Kailash – also sacred to
Buddhists

32. Mount Taranaki in New Zealand

33. Mount Tabor – important in the story
of Jesus

34. Navajo regard mountains in general as
sacred

35. Why mountains?
• High up
• Close to Gods and Goddesses
• Easy to see (and worship)
• Also provide water (rivers etc)

36. かぐや姫

37. And they are important to cultural
identity

38. And volcanoes?

39. Volcanoes are extra special

40. For a very obvious reason!

41. Volcanoes
• Provide cultural identity
• Mythology
• Provide water (rivers)
• Also we are grateful
• Because they don’t blow up and kill us
• We hope!

42. Mount Vesuvius AD 79

43. Destroyed Pompeii

44. And Herculaneum

45. Vesuvius
• Gas, rocks, and ash up to a height of 30
kilometers!

46. Like this

47. Plinian eruption

48. Pliny (Roman author) witnessed the
eruption

50. Over 1000 bodies recovered

51. How many died altogether?
• We don’t know
• Most people died indoors
• Roof collapses
• Maybe heat

52. Krakatoa 1883

53. Between Sumatra and Java

54. Krakatoa
• Huge eruption
• Tsunami
• 36,000 people killed

55. Lake Toba

56. Supervolcano

57. About 70,000 years ago

58. Biggest eruption ever!

59. Killed nearly everyone on earth!!

60. About 3,000 people survived!

61. Followed by volcanic winter

62. Temperatures dropped everywhere

63. Mount Tambora – Indonesia again

64. Killed over 100,000 in 1815

65. Mount Unzen, Japan

66. 15,000 people killed -- 1792

67. Huge tsunami

68. Japanese earthquakes
• Mount Asama (1783) – 1,151
• Mount Torishima (1902) – 150
• Mount Unzen (1991) – 43
• Mount Ontake (2014) -- 57

69. Volcanoes as Fire Gods

70. Or Goddesses

71. Holy Fire

72. May be helpful

73. May be terrifying

74. Deep connection: God and Fire

75. Don’t forget

76. Thin outer crust

77. Basically a ball of fire

78. Mostly firey rock

79. Solid in the center

80. Because of the pressure

81. And don’t forget

82. Mount Fuji is at a triple intersection!

83. Triple intersection

84. Fuji = Fire God

85. Goes back a long way

86. We hope it will be peaceful

87. Bringing great benefits

90. But who knows?

91. One of Japan’s three Holy Mountains

92. Sacred to Shinto

93. And Buddhism

94. • Shinto – reverence for nature
• Mount Fuji is a powerful symbol of nature
• Buddhism
• Meditation
• Gateway to another world

95. Shugendo – 修験道

96. • Meditation
• Enlightenment
• Transformation
• Magic
• Magical creatures

97. En no Gyoja

98. Born 634 AD

99. 役行者

101. Shinto

102. Sengen Shrine

103. Name comes from Asama Mountain

104. But most Sengen Shrines …

105. … dedicated to the worship of …

106. This

107. Associated with a Fuji Goddess

108. Connected with cherry blossoms

110. Continues today

111. Purifying fire

114. The great goddess is carried through
the town of Fujiyoshida

115. 末代(富士)上人
まつだい しょうにん
• Matsudai, the Saint of Mount Fuji
• Born 1103
• First historic person known to climb Mount
Fuji

116. Matsudai: important to Fuji worship

117. Buddhist temple on TOP of Mount
Fuji!

118. 1149

119. Matsudai climbed Mount Fuji
hundreds of times!

120. Permanent religious headquarters

121. Became a mummy!

122. Became a Buddha

123. Matsudai was puzzled

124. The Sun Buddha

125. Appeared on Mount Fuji

126. But in FEMALE form!

127. The Great Goddess Asama

128. 浅間大明神

129. Fuji deity is BOTH male and female!

130. Kami and Buddha are the same!

131. The start of Fuji spirituality

132. By the end of the Kamakura period …

133. Around 1330

134. A new tradition

135. Climb Mount Fuji yourself!

136. Get magical powers

137. And Buddhist merit

138. Climb … get power … go back to the
ordinary world

139. Murayama Shugen

140. 村山修験

141. Based in Shizuoka

142. More people climbing

143. Warriors and other powerful people …

144. … attracted by this philosophy

145. Deep understanding

146. Magical power

147. Warring states period

148. Violence, uncertainty, loss of control

149. Serenity, certainty, and personal power

150. 角行 (Kakugyou)

151. Kakugyou (1541-1646)

152. Promoted large-scale pilgrimage

153. Advised by En no Gyouja!

154. Mount Fuji as the savior of Japan!

155. Solving the problem of war and
turmoil

156. Kakugyou entered a cave

157. Locals said “Don’t do it”

158. It’s sacred!

159. Everyone dies!!

160. In Shizuoka

161. You can visit

162. Mud water and bats!!

163. Kakugyou had amazing experiences

164. In this hole!

165. In tune with the universe

166. He unified Fuji worship

167. Fuji: A Cosmic Mountain

168. The actual cosmos!!!

169. Climbing + ascetic practices = power to
change the country

170. Symbolism changes

171. Fire becomes enlightenment

172. Water becomes purification

173. Kakugyou: unity of Buddha and kami

174. Became a great healer

175. The government was afraid of him

176. Thought he might be Christian

177. But he survived

178. Lived to be over 100 years old