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Type Mountain
Scripts 富士(Japanese Kanji) ふじ(Japanese Hiragana) フジ(Japanese Katakana)
Pronounced Pron. FOO-ZHEE(Japanese) FOO-jee(English)  [key·IPA]

Meaning & History

The name of a mountain (a symbol for the Japanese for centuries), known in Japanese as Fuji-san or Fujiyama (富士山), located on the boundaries of Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures in central Japan. It is written as 富 (fu) meaning "wealth" combined with 士 (shi) meaning "warrior; samurai."

The etymology of this place name is still being debated, though the theory that it is derived from Ainu フヂ (fuji), its meaning referring to (the goddess of) fire, a common association with volcanoes by the Ainu, is widely accepted.
One other theory, proposed by linguist and philologist Alexander Vovin, suggests that it is derived from a combination of 火 (pu), the Eastern Old Japanese term of hi (or ho when on its own) meaning "fire" that is only attested once in the Man'yōshū, and 主 (nushi) meaning "master."
Added 1/23/2015 by m4yb3_daijirou
Edited 11/18/2020 by HL, Mike C and m4yb3_daijirou