Funatsu-Tainai Lava Tree Mold in Fujikawaguchiko, Japan

At the base of Mount Fuji in Japan lies a cave born from volcanic eruption and shaped by human spirituality. Atlas Obscura reports that the Funatsu-Tainai lava tree mold was created in nine thirty-seven, when an eruption engulfed a series of fallen trees with lava. As the lava cooled around them, the trees burned away, leaving behind a smooth, rounded tube whose undulating inner surface resembles a human womb. Followers of the Fuji-ko folk religion recognized spiritual significance in this form — they believed entering and exiting the cave represented a kind of rebirth, and expecting mothers would visit to pray for safe deliveries. A shrine to the goddess Konohanasakuya-hime, said to have given birth in the cave, now marks the entrance. Though Mount Fuji remains geologically active, its last eruption was over three hundred years ago, and today the cave welcomes visitors.

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