The Great Wave is perhaps the most famous piece of Japanese artwork: a roaring blue wave and three boats on the ocean. And far in the background is Mt. Fuji. And that’s actually what Hokusai’s famous woodprint is about: Mt. Fuji, volcano and Japan’s tallest mountain.
Andrew Bernstein tells the story of Mt. Fuji–from its geographic origins as a violent volcano through to its present day status as Japan’s national symbol and a world heritage site—in his latest book <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/12343/9780691256290">Fuji: A Mountain In The Making</a>(Princeton UP, 2025).
Andrew is professor of history at Lewis & Clark College and the author of Modern Passings: Death Rites, Politics, and Social Change in Imperial Japan (University of Hawaii Press: 2006)
You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at<a href="https://asianreviewofbooks.com/"> The Asian Review of Books</a>, including its review of <a href="https://asianreviewofbooks.com/fuji-a-mountain-in-the-making-by-andrew-bernstein/">Fuji</a>. Follow on Twitter at<a href="https://twitter.com/BookReviewsAsia"> @BookReviewsAsia</a>.
Nicholas Gordon is an editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at<a href="https://twitter.com/nickrigordon?lang=en"> @nickrigordon</a>.

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