Hirata Atsutane, a Japanese classical scholar in the Edo period, speculated that the name is from a word meaning, "a mountain standing up shapely as an ear ( 穂, ho) of a rice plant". Another claims that it came from 不尽 ( not + to exhaust), meaning never-ending. An early folk etymology claims that Fuji came from 不二 ( not + two), meaning without equal or nonpareil. A text of the 9th century, Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, says that the name came from "immortal" ( 不死, fushi, fuji) and also from the image of abundant ( 富, fu) soldiers ( 士, shi, ji) ascending the slopes of the mountain.
The origin of the name Fuji is unclear, having no recording of it being first called by this name. However, the name predates kanji, and these characters are ateji, meaning that they were selected because their pronunciations match the syllables of the name but do not carry a meaning related to the mountain.
The current kanji for Mount Fuji, 富 and 士, mean "wealth" or "abundant" and "ground" or "soil" respectively. These 25 locations include the mountain and the Shinto shrine, Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taisha. UNESCO recognizes 25 sites of cultural interest within the Mount Fuji locality. According to UNESCO, Mount Fuji has "inspired artists and poets and been the object of pilgrimage for centuries". It was added to the World Heritage List as a Cultural Site on June 22, 2013. It is a Special Place of Scenic Beauty and one of Japan's Historic Sites. Mount Fuji is one of Japan's " Three Holy Mountains" ( 三霊山, Sanreizan) along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku.
Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone, which is covered in snow for about five months of the year, is commonly used as a cultural icon of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and photography, as well as visited by sightseers and climbers. The mountain is located about 100 km (62 mi) southwest of Tokyo and is visible from there on clear days. Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano that last erupted from 1707 to 1708. It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest peak of an island on Earth. Mount Fuji ( 富士山, Fujisan, Japanese: ( listen)), located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, standing 3,776.24 m (12,389.2 ft).