European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 24, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Geisha Cherry blossoms scarce but the Mountain remains tons of litter collect on the slopes of Fuji dumped by the multitude of climbers. Page 10 the stars and stripes sunday september 24, 1978 Dpi by Andrew Horvat associated press Hen a japanese becomes indignant about a foreigner s ignorance of things japanese he May say you still think of Japan As a mysterious Oriental country the land of Fujiyama Geisha and Cherry  while the Geisha Japan s traditional female entertain ers have Given Way to Brash bar hostesses and the Cherry blossoms must be searched for in valleys formed by Concrete and Glass the White Cone of mount Fuji rises above the smog 70 Miles Southwest of Tokyo if not Eter Nally at least 85 Days of the year at last count. There May not be much mysterious about a dormant Volcano that last sputtered 173 years ago. However the fact that 3.6 million japanese converge on Fuji s slopes each year and the sight of 18,500 of the climbers scaling gruelling Rocky paths to a Crater 12,385 feet above sea level on any summer weekend does leave the foreigner thinking he May have come in touch with one of the Las mysteries of Japan. At about 4 30 . The Light from the East pierces the Grey of Dawn colouring 180 degrees of landscape two Miles below Fuji with shades of Forest Green and sea Blue. By Sunrise the 1,500 people who spent a sleepless night crowded in one of five huts on the cinder Cone s Eastern ledge Are joined by thousands making their Way from equally cramped resting places below. Despite the people the garbage and the smell the Jap anese continue to climb the Mountain generating it on the one hand defiling it on the other. Eighty year old pilgrims still chant cleanse the six sins Hope for Good weather As they climb. One still meets the exorcising Faith healers the Yam Abushi on their Way up and even the Ordinary climber will buy a walking Cane with two tiny Bells whose tinkle is said toward off evil spirits. The religious nationalistic ritual of Fuji climbing has become a popular pastime Only in the 20th Cen Tury. Many of the older climbers who today take their families on an arduous picnic to the top of the Mountain made the climb As school children in the 1920s or 30s As part of patriotism instilling exercises. The Mountain s conical shape presents no sheer Cliffs and though the climb May take six hours for adults Chil Dren manage to go up in two or three. The patriotic importance of Fuji can still be seen in the pre world War ii rising Sun flags that sell Well on the Mountain top. The religious part of the Mountain is now confined to the area just below the Peak which was awarded to the Sengen shinto shrine in an 18-year-Long dispute with the government that ended in 1973. From the shrine where priests still scatter water Rice wine and Salt As part of a purifying ritual one can see some of the 16 Golf courses that surround the solitary vol Cano. An official of the environment Protection Section of Yamanashi prefecture said the National Park status of the