is an East Asian Buddhist

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

who originated from the Hindu

Saraswati Saraswati (, ), also spelled as Sarasvati, is one of the principal Devi, goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of knowledge, education, learning, arts, speech, poetry, music, purification, language and culture. Together with the godde ...

, the patroness of speech, the arts, and learning. Worship of Benzaiten arrived in Japan during the sixth through eighth centuries, mainly via

Classical Chinese Classical Chinese is the language in which the classics of Chinese literature were written, from . For millennia thereafter, the written Chinese used in these works was imitated and iterated upon by scholars in a form now called Literary ...

translations of the ''

Golden Light Sutra The Golden Light Sutra or (; ) is a Buddhist text of the Mahayana branch of Buddhism. In Sanskrit, the full title is ''Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtrendrarājaḥ'' "The King of Sutras on the Sublime Golden Radiance" History The sutra was origina ...

'' (

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

: ''Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra''), which has a section devoted to her. Benzaiten was also syncretized with Japanese

kami are the Deity, deities, Divinity, divinities, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. ''Kami'' can be elements of the landscape, forc ...

, and adopted into the Shinto religion, and there are several

Shinto shrines A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...

dedicated to her. As such, Benzaiten is now also associated with dragons, snakes, local Japanese deities, wealth, fortune, protection from disease and danger, and the protection of the state.

Indian deity

Saraswati (Sanskrit: ''Sarasvatī'';

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

: ''Sarassatī'') was originally in the ''

Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...

'' a river goddess, the deification of the

Sarasvati River The Sarasvati River () is a Apotheosis, deified myth, mythological Rigvedic rivers, river first mentioned in the Rigveda and later in Vedas, Vedic and post-Vedic texts. It played an important role in the Historical Vedic religion, Vedic religio ...

. She was identified with Vach (Skt. ''

Vāc Vac (, ') is a Vedic goddess who is a personified form of divine speech. She enters into the inspired poets and visionaries, gives expression and energy to those she loves; she is called the "mother of the Vedas" and consort of Prajapati, the Vedi ...

''), the Vedic goddess of speech, and from there became considered to be the patron of music and the arts, knowledge, and learning. In addition to their association with eloquence and speech, both Saraswati and Vach also show warrior traits: Saraswati for instance was called the "

Vritra Vritra (, , ) is a danava in Hinduism. He serves as the personification of drought, and is an adversary of the king of the devas, Indra. As a danava, he belongs to the race of the asuras. Vritra is also known in the Vedas as Ahi ( ). He appe ...

-slayer" (''Vṛtraghnī'') in the ''Rigveda'' (6.61.7) and was associated with the

Maruts In Hinduism, the Maruts (; ), also known as the Marutagana and sometimes identified with Rudras, are storm deities and sons of Rudra and Prisni. The number of Maruts varies from 27 to sixty (three times sixty in RV 8.96.8). They are very viol ...

.Faure (2015). pp. 164-165. She was also associated with the

Ashvins The Ashvins (, ), also known as the Ashvini Kumaras and Asvinau,, §1.42. are Hindu deities, Hindu Divine twins, twin gods associated with medicine, health, healing, sciences, and the twilight. In the ''Rigveda'', they are described as youthf ...

, with whom she collaborates to bolster

Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes Indra is the m ...

's strength by telling him how to kill the

asura Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the wor ...

Namuchi. In a hymn in Book 10 of the ''Rigveda'' (10.125.6), Vach declares: "I bend the bow for

Rudra Rudra (/ ɾud̪ɾə/; ) is a Rigvedic deity associated with Shiva, the wind or storms, Vayu, medicine, and the hunt. One translation of the name is 'the roarer'. In the ''Rigveda'', Rudra is praised as the "mightiest of the mighty". Rudra ...

that his arrow may strike and slay the hater of devotion. I rouse and order battle for the people, and I have penetrated Earth and Heaven." Saraswati, like many other Hindu deities, was eventually adopted into Buddhism, figuring mainly in

Mahayana Mahāyāna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#Mahāyāna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...

texts. In the 15th chapter of

Yijing The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...

's translation of the '' Sutra of Golden Light'' (''Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra'') into

( Taishō Tripitaka 885), Saraswati (大辯才天女,

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: ''Dàbiàncáitiānnǚ''; Japanese: ''Daibenzaitennyo'', lit. "great goddess of eloquence") appears before the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

's assembly and vows to protect all those who put their faith in the sutra, recite it, or copy it. In addition, she promises to increase the intelligence of those who recite the sutra so that they will be able to understand and remember various ''

dharani Dharanis (IAST: ), also known as (Skt.) ''vidyās'' and ''paritas'' or (Pal.) ''parittas'', are lengthier Buddhist mantras functioning as mnemonic codes, incantations, or recitations, and almost exclusively written originally in Sanskrit while Pa ...

s''. She then teaches the assembly various mantras with which one can heal all illnesses and escape all manner of misfortune. One of the Buddha's disciples, the

brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

Kaundinya Kaundinya (Sanskrit कौंडिन्य), also known as ''Ājñātakauṇḍinya'', Pali: ''Añña Koṇḍañña''), was one of the first five bhikkhu, Buddhist monks (Pancavaggiya), disciple of Gautama Buddha and the first to attain the f ...

, then praises Saraswati, comparing her to Vishnu's consort Narayani (

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

) and declaring that she can manifest herself not only as a benevolent deity, but also as

Yami Yamuna is a sacred river in Hinduism and the main tributary of the Ganges River. The river is also worshipped as a Hindu goddess called Yamuna. Yamuna is known as Yami in early texts, while in later literature, she is called Kalindi. In Hindu scr ...

, the sister of

Yama Yama (), also known as Kāla and Dharmarāja, is the Hindu god of death and justice, responsible for the dispensation of law and punishment of sinners in his abode, Naraka. He is often identified with Dharmadeva, the personification of ''Dharm ...

. He then describes her eight-armed form with all its attributes — bow, arrow, sword, spear, axe,

vajra The Vajra (, , ), is a legendary and ritualistic tool, symbolizing the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). It is also described as a "ritual weapon". The use of the bell and vajra together as s ...

, iron wheel, and

noose A noose is a loop at the end of a rope in which the knot tightens under load and can be loosened without untying the knot. The knot can be used to secure a rope to a post, pole, or animal but only where the end is in a position that the loop can ...

. The poem describes Saraswati as one who "has sovereignty in the world", as one who is "good fortune, success, and peace of mind". It also states that she fights in battlefields and is always victorious. One key concern of the ''Golden Light Sutra'' is the protection of the state, and as such, Saraswati here also takes on some form of a warrior goddess, similar to

Durga Durga (, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around combating evils and demonic ...

. Bernard Faure also notes that the Vach already had martial attributes, which may have been retained in some form.

Bencaitian / Benzaiten

Saraswati became the Chinese 辯才天 (Bencaitian) or "great eloquence deity" (大辯天). This became the Japanese 弁財天 (Benzaiten). In East Asian Buddhism, she is one of the

Twenty-Four Protective Deities The Twenty-Four Protective Deities or the Twenty-Four Devas (Chinese language, Chinese: 二十四諸天; pinyin: ''Èrshísì Zhūtiān''), sometimes reduced to the Twenty Protective Deities or the Twenty Devas (Chinese language, Chinese: 二十� ...

( Chinese: 二十四諸天;

: ''Èrshísì Zhūtiān''). She remained associated with wealth, music, and eloquence and also took on aspects of a fierce protector of the state (due to the influence of the ''Golden Light Sutra'' which promises to protect a country where the sutra is chanted). During the medieval period onwards, Benzaiten came to be associated or even conflated with a number of Buddhist and local deities, including the goddess

Kisshōten , and are among the Japanese names of Sri, a Hindu/Buddhist goddess or . She is sometimes named as one of the Seven Gods of Fortune, replacing either Jurōjin or Fukurokuju. For example, in the 1783 edition of the Butsuzōzui compendium ...

whose role as goddess of fortune eventually became ascribed to Benzaiten in popular belief). As such, she was eventually also worshiped as a bestower of monetary fortune and became part of the set of popular deities known as the

Seven Lucky Gods In Japanese mythology, the are believed to grant good luck and are often represented in netsuke and in artworks. One of the seven (Jurōjin) is said to be based on a historical figure. They all began as remote and impersonal gods, but graduall ...

(''shichifukujin''). Benzaiten is depicted a number of ways in Japanese art. She is often depicted holding a ''

biwa The is a Japanese short-necked wooden lute traditionally used in narrative storytelling. The is a plucked string instrument that first gained popularity in China before spreading throughout East Asia, eventually reaching Japan sometime durin ...

'' (a traditional Japanese lute) similar to how Saraswati is depicted with a

veena The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( IAST: vīṇā), is any of various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.

in Indian art, though she may also be portrayed wielding a sword and a wish-granting jewel ('' cintāmaṇi''). An iconographic formula showing Benzaiten with eight arms holding a variety of weapons (based on the ''Golden Light Sutra'') meanwhile is believed to derive from Durga's iconography. As Uga Benzaiten, she may also be shown with Ugajin (a human-headed white snake) above her head. Lastly, she is also portrayed (albeit rarely) with the head of a snake or a dragon. Benzaiten's worship also spread to Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period, and she is still venerated in certain locations in Taiwan, such as the Xian Dong Yan temple in

Keelung City Keelung ( ; zh, p=Jīlóng, c=基隆, poj=Ke-lâng), Chilung or Jilong ( ; ), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port Provincial city (Taiwan), city in northeastern Taiwan. The city is part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan are ...

Esotericism

In Japanese Buddhism, Benzaiten also developed various esoteric aspects. For example, in the

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Dharma Flower School (天台法華宗, ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just ''Hokkeshū''), is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition with significant esoteric elements that was officially established in Japan in 806 by t ...

school's ''Keiran shūyō shū'' 渓嵐拾葉集 ollection of Leaves Gathered in Tempestuous Brooks a fourteenth century compendium, Benzaiten is associated with the three truths and the three contemplations in one thought, as well as various esoteric seed syllables, the unity of the two-world mandalas in the Susiddhi Dainichi (Vairocana Buddha), which represents the ultimate principle of enlightenment.

Syncretism with Shinto kami

Due to her status as a water deity, Benzaiten was also linked with '' nāgas'',

dragons A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depict ...

, and

snakes Snakes are elongated Limbless vertebrate, limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales much like other members of ...

. Over time, Benzaiten became identified with the Japanese snake ''

'' Ugajin. She also became identified with the ''kami'' Ichikishima-hime. Benzaiten was also adopted as a female ''

'' in

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

, with the name . This kami is one of three ''

'' believed to be daughters of the sun goddess

Amaterasu , often called Amaterasu () for short, also known as and , is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. Often considered the chief deity (''kami'') of the Shinto pantheon, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the () ...

, the ancestress of the

imperial family A royal family is the immediate family of monarch, monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or emperor, empress, and the term papal family describes the family of ...

. She is also believed by

Buddhists to be the essence of the ''kami'' Ugajin, whose effigy she sometimes carries on her head together with a ''

torii A is a traditional culture of Japan, Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred, and a spot where kami are welcomed and thought to ...

'' (see photo below). As a consequence, she is sometimes also known as Benzaiten or Uga Benten.Ludvik, Catherine. “Uga-Benzaiten: The Goddess and the Snake.” Impressions, no. 33, 2012, pp. 94–109. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/42597966.

Bīja and mantra

The ''

bīja In Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, the Sanskrit term Bīja () (Japanese language, Jp. 種子 ''shuji'') (Chinese language, Chinese 種子 ''zhǒngzǐ''), literally seed, is used as a metaphor for the origin or cause of things and cognate with bindu ...

'' or seed syllable used to represent Benzaiten in Japanese esoteric Buddhism is (सु, traditionally read in Japanese as ''so''), written in

Siddhaṃ script (also ') is an Brahmic scripts, Indic script used in India from the 6th century to the 13th century. Also known in its later evolved form as Siddhamātṛkā, Siddham is a medieval Brahmic scripts, Brahmic abugida, derived from the Gupta sc ...

. In Japanese esoteric Buddhism ( mikkyo), Benzaiten's main

mantra A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...

is as follows:

Temples and shrines

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, the places of worship dedicated to Benzaiten are often called "辯天堂" ( benten-dō) or .

Shinto shrine A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...

s dedicated to her are also called by this name. Entire Shinto shrines can be dedicated to her, as in the case of Kamakura's Zeniarai Benzaiten Ugafuku Shrine or Nagoya's Kawahara Shrine. Benzaiten temples or shrines places are commonly located near bodies of water like rivers, ponds, or springs due to her association with water. Benzaiten's worship became integrated with native Japanese beliefs, including serpent and dragon symbolism, as she was originally a river goddess. Benzaiten is enshrined on numerous locations throughout Japan; for example, the

Enoshima is a small offshore island, about in circumference, at the mouth of the Katase River which flows into the Sagami Bay of Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Administratively, Enoshima is part of the mainland city of Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Fujisawa, and is ...

Island in

Sagami Bay lies south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshu, central Japan, contained within the scope of the Miura Peninsula, in Kanagawa, to the east, the Izu Peninsula, in Shizuoka Prefecture, to the west, and the Shōnan coastline to the north, while the i ...

, the

Chikubu Island is a small island in the northern part of Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture, in the Kansai region of Japan. It has been known since ancient times for the beauty of its scenery and for its small Shinto shrine and Buddhist temples. Administratively ...

Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan. It is located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto. Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old. It is estimated to be the 13 ...

and the

Itsukushima is an island in the western part of the Inland Sea of Japan, located in the northwest of Hiroshima Bay. It is popularly known as , which in Japanese means "Shrine Island". The island is one of Hayashi Gahō's Three Views of Japan specifie ...

Island in

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka Ba ...

(Japan's Three Great Benzaiten Shrines); and she and a five-headed

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

are the central figures of the Enoshima Engi, a history of the shrines on Enoshima written by the Japanese Buddhist monk Kōkei (皇慶) in 1047. According to Kōkei, Benzaiten is the third daughter of the dragon-king of Munetsuchi (無熱池; literally "lake without heat"), known in Sanskrit as Anavatapta, the lake lying at the center of the world according to an ancient Buddhist cosmological view.

Ryōhō-ji is a Buddhism in Japan, Buddhist temple affiliated with Nichiren-shū located in the city of Hachiōji in western Tōkyō, Japan. Its ''mountain name'' is . The temple is among those of the Pilgrimage (), and enshrines the goddess Benzaiten. I ...

, also known as the "Moe Temple", enshrines Benzaiten. It is famous for

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

style depictions of Buddhist deities.

Benzaiten Buddhist temples

* Hogon-ji Temple (Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture, Chikubushima, Japan's Three Major Benzaiten) * Daigan-ji Temple (Hyokkaichi City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Miyajima, Japan's three major Bensaiten) * Yaotomi Shrine (Gamagori City, Aichi Prefecture, Takeshima (Aichi Prefecture), Japan Shichibenten) * Enkyo-ji Temple (Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, on the day of Kishi every 60 days Uga Benzai Tenyu Shuku is practiced) * Takian-ji Temple (Mino City, Osaka Prefecture) * Shinju-ji Temple (Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture) * Shinfuku-ji Temple (Tsuyama City, Okayama Prefecture) * Tokai-ji Temple Fuse Benten (Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture) * Senso-ji Temple Bentenzan (Taito Ward, Tokyo) 1* Kanei-ji Temple Shinobazu Pond Benzaiten (Taito Ward, Tokyo, Edo Shichibenten) * Myoko-ji Temple Itsukushima Bensaiten (Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture, Kamehime-sama's dedication) * Togo-ji Temple (Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture) * Kofuku-ji Temple Kubo Benzaiten (Nara City, Nara Prefecture, in the three-storied pagoda, hidden Buddha) * Ryozen-ji Temple Daibensai Tendo (Nara City, Nara Prefecture) * Chokenji Temple (Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City) *Fukasawa Zenarai Benten (Tonosawa, Hakone-cho, Ashigashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture) * Saifuku-ji Temple (Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan's largest wooden Buddha) * Ikko-ji Temple Benten Cave (Inagi City, Tokyo) * Daisei-ji Temple Inokashira Benzaiten (Mitaka City, Tokyo) * Honko-ji Temple, Suse Benzai Kotoku Tenjo (Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture) *Hase-dera Bentendo Benten Cave (Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture) * Kaiko-ji Temple, Izumiyama Yutsu Benzaiten (Yamauchi of Senwakuji Temple, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Hachibi statue with Denkyo Daishi Saicho Saku, Hidden Buddha) *

Temple Shingo Benzaiten (Hachioji City, Tokyo, dating from 1489, known as "Moe-ji Temple" for its use of anime style depictions of Buddhist deities) * Momo-ji Temple Naked Benzaiten (2-16 Yotsuya-dori, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya City) *There is a shrine on a floating island protruding in Tanara-numa, Onrin-ji Temple (Oura-cho, Gunma Prefecture). * Eian-ji Temple (Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture) Enshrined in Bentendo where vermilion Hiten dances with Bishamonten and Daikokuten (opened several times a year) * Myoen-ji Temple Iwaya Reijo Tsuchiya Zeni Benten (Hiratsuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture) *Jushoin Matsumoto Benten (Edogawa-ku, Tokyo) * Hoju-in Kaiun Suzusato-saiten (Minato-ku, Tokyo) * Meio-ji Temple (Ibaraki City, Osaka Prefecture, Benten sect headquarters) * Nyoi-ji Temple (the head temple of the Benten sect in Gojo City, Nara Prefecture, Gyoki Bodhisattva is said to have been carved in the Nara period)

Shinto shrines enshrining Benzaiten

*Enoshima Shrine (Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Enoshima, Japan's three major Benzaiten) *Koami Shrine (Nihonbashi, Tokyo) *Zeniarai Benzaiten Ugafuku Shrine (Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture) *Shimizu Benzaitensha (Saku City, Nagano Prefecture) *Tenkawa Daibenzaitensha (Tenkawa-mura, Yoshino-gun, Nara Prefecture, Japan's three major Benzaiten) ote 6*Koganeyama Shrine (Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, Mt. Kinka) Benzaiten is also enshrined as Ichikishima Hime-no-Mikoto at the

Munakata Taisha is a collection of three Shinto Shinto shrine, shrines located in Munakata, Fukuoka, Munakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is the head of the approximately 6,000 Munakata shrines all over the country. Although the name Munakata Taisha refers to ...

shrine.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

A Study of the Enoshima Engi

{{Authority control Arts goddesses Biwa players Buddhist goddesses Commerce goddesses Abundance goddesses Fortune goddesses Japanese dragons Japanese goddesses Knowledge goddesses Sea and river goddesses Water goddesses Shinbutsu shūgō Shinto kami Wisdom goddesses Buddhism in the Meiji era Music and singing goddesses Twenty-Four Protective Deities Japanese Vajrayana Buddhism Forms of Saraswati