Who Is Benzaiten? The Water Goddess of Music, Eloquence and Luck

At low tide, the island of Enoshima can be reached on foot across the sand. In the account Lafcadio Hearn published in 1894, he climbed through three shrines to the goddess of the island and found each one empty of her image. A guide laughed and pointed to a small snake sliding through a lattice. "Benten-sama," he said.

The scene holds the whole puzzle of this being. She has an Indian river goddess behind her, a Buddhist scripture, three Shinto sisters, a lute, a snake and a place among the lucky gods. This page separates those layers and says which sources support each one.

Names and layers

JAANUS calls her a Buddhist goddess of music, learning, eloquence, wealth, longevity and protection from natural disasters. As a river goddess in India she was adopted into the Buddhist and then the Shinto pantheon, which helps explain why many of her temples and shrines stand near water.

The Shinto layer comes from the chronicles. Wikipedia's page on Munakata Taisha summarizes the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki story. When Amaterasu and Susanoo made a vow, Amaterasu bit Susanoo's sword into pieces, and three goddesses were born from the fragments. The page says Itsukushima is dedicated to the same goddesses. Wikipedia's page on Enoshima Shrine lists its deity as the Munakata goddesses together with Benzaiten. We did not read the chronicles themselves.

What the scripture and the art say

JAANUS says a scripture translated into Chinese in the seventh century describes her with eight arms holding a bow, an arrow, a sword, an ax, a spear, a long pestle, an iron wheel and a silk rope. The earliest Japanese example it names is an eighth-century sculpture in the Hokkedo of Todaiji.

The second familiar form came later. JAANUS describes a plump woman in a flowing gown holding a four-stringed lute, a type that became popular in the thirteenth century. She is sometimes shown seated on a white serpent. The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds a thirteenth-century hanging scroll of Benzaiten with fifteen attendants (accession 1975.268.11). JAANUS lists the fifteen sons associated with her in esoteric Buddhism.

The lists of attributes do not always match. Hearn describes an eight-armed Benten with a sword, wheel, bow, arrow, key and a gem, and Fujisawa's tourist association lists a similar set for the eight-armed statue at Enoshima. Neither list matches the scripture as JAANUS gives it. Images drift from texts.

Three islands, three waters

JAANUS names Itsukushima, Enoshima and Chikubushima among her temples and shrines near water. The Fujisawa tourist association calls Enoshima, Miyajima and Chikubushima the three most famous shrines to her.

At Enoshima the tourist association says the shrine was first built at a cave in 552 by imperial order of Emperor Kinmei, and that three shrines make up the complex today. We did not find an early document for that date, so treat it as tradition. The same page says the shrine has had its present name since the Meiji period. Hearn saw the change. He found a monument recording the island's move from Buddhism to Shinto, and he met Benten in a snake, not in an image. He also saw the Stone of Good Fortune, worn smooth by pilgrims who rubbed it hoping for riches.

On Chikubushima in Lake Biwa, the Nohgaku Performers' Association says the temple's main deity is Benzaiten, called Great Benzaiten for her ancient origins. The island's shrine honors Ichikishimahime, who is Benzaiten there, with Uga Fukujin, a dragon and a local water kami. For the dragon king of the sea, see Ryujin.

From scripture to luck, tale and stage

JAANUS says that in the Muromachi period Benzaiten was grouped among the Seven Lucky Gods, and that through this her popularity grew among merchants and city people in the Edo period, when new temples and shrines were dedicated to her. Bishamonten stands in the same group.

Enoshima's own tales sit between folklore and literature. The tourist association says that, according to the Taiheiki, Hojo Tokimasa prayed in the cave in 1190. On the last night Benzaiten appeared, turned into a snake and slid into the sea, leaving three scales, which became the Hojo family crest. The shrine's crest is drawn from that tale. Wikipedia's page on the shrine tells it as a legend about a mysterious woman. We did not read the Taiheiki itself.

On stage, the Noh play Chikubushima shows officials visiting the island, where a woman and an old man guide them. The woman turns out to be Benzaiten, who dances, and the old man a dragon who offers treasures. We found no date for the play in the sources we read.

What to look for

• Eight arms with weapons. This follows the scripture and is the older type.
• A plump woman with a lute. JAANUS places this form in the thirteenth century.
• A white serpent. Hearn calls the white serpent her servant, and says she may take its form.
• A small figure above her head. At Enoshima, the tourist association says an image of the rice deity Ugajin sits over the eight-armed statue.
• Water nearby. Islands, lakes and springs are typical sites.
• A shrine gate or a temple gate. Check which. At Enoshima, the answer changed in the nineteenth century.

Common mistakes and mix-ups

"Benzaiten is just a music goddess." JAANUS lists learning, eloquence, wealth, longevity and protection from disasters as well.

"She is the same as Kichijoten." JAANUS says the two are often confused. They are separate figures.

"She is either Buddhist or Shinto." She is both, depending on the place. JAANUS describes her adoption into both pantheons, and Hearn's footnote says Buddhist deities are often identified, or confused, with kami in popular worship.

"The snake is the goddess." In Hearn's account the snake is her servant, and she sometimes takes its form. In the Taiheiki tale she turns into a snake. The sources use the snake in different ways.

"The 552 date is a record." It is a shrine tradition repeated by a tourist association. We did not find the document behind it.