Tag: Benten

Gosho’s Three Shrines (4)

May 4, 2020 / John D. / 1 Comment

Shirakumo Jinja

The precincts at Shirakumo are smaller than the other two Gosho shrines, giving a feeling of compactness and intimacy.

Shirakumo Shrine in Gosho, like the nearby Itsukushima Shrine, is linked with Benzaiten (also known as Benten). The reason, however, is different. Whereas Itsukushima Shrine stands on a small island, Benten being associated with water, Shirakumo Shrine is linked with the musical instrument she plays – the biwa.

The shrine stands on the site of the former Saionji residence, and the Saionji family were head of the Biwa School of music. The form of the deity worshipped is Ichikishima-hime-no-mikoto, a manifestation of Benten that was invited from Chikubushima Island in Lake Biwa (so named because the lake resembles the shape of the instrument).

The shrine has a long and complicated history. It originated in ancient times as a Buddhist temple dedicated to a manifestation of Benten known as Myo-Onten, or Myo-On Benzaiten. One of her worshippers was Fujiwara no Moronaga, described in The Tale of the Heike as a distinguished biwa player.

In 1224 the temple was situated where the Golden Pavilion now stands. Thereafter it suffered various mishaps before being moved in 1769 to its present position, within the grounds of the Saionji residence. After the Saionji family moved to Tokyo following the Meiji Restoration, the temple was re-dedicated as a shrine in accord with the law about the separation of Shinto and Buddhism.

In place of the syncretic Benzaiten, the newly enshrined deity was pure Shinto and the shrine took its name from Shirakumo village (I’ve been unable as yet to find the location or the connection). According to a noticeboard at the shrine it was here that Saionji Kinmochi, prime minister and friend of Emperor Meiji, founded a private academy in 1869 that became Ritsumeikan University.

Shirakumo means ‘white clouds’, and clouds in the Daoist tradition are symbols of good luck, which is why they are often seen in Chinese architecture and paintings. Because they fuse elements of water and air, as well as mediating between sky and earth, they were considered auspicious as yin and yang symbols. In addition, the Chinese reading of the kanji (‘un‘) is a homonym for ‘luck or fortune’, and white as the colour of purity is much favoured in Shinto – white snakes, white horses, white shide strips. The name of the shrine thus has potent significance.

Clouds might also be considered appropriate for a water goddess, and the shrine’s water reputedly has healing properties. This is augmented by a sacred rock with curative power that stands behind the Honden (Sanctuary). As elsewhere in Shinto, the idea is to rub the rock to absorb the energy, then to rub the part of the body that one wants to be improved or healed.

Shirakumo presides over five divine benefits:
* Music – musical ability, the arts, creativity
* Water – life, fire prevention, disaster prevention
* Knowledge – wisdom, scholarship, eloquence
* Wealth – riches, prosperity, victory
* Luck – good luck, health, long life

The shrine’s prized possession, not on display, is a seated image of Myo-On-Benzaiten, possibly dating back to Heian times. In 2012 it was designated an Important Cultural Property – the only Shinto statue of a deity to be so honoured.

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This is the final posting in a four-part series about the three shrines of Gosho (Former Imperial Palace and Park in Kyoto). For Part One click here, Part Two here, and Part Three here.

One of the shrine’s large ema shows a scene from the Boshin War. Needless to say which side the aristocratic shrine supported.

One of the pair of guardian komainu has a most appealing snarl

Topical outreach to a foreign audience, sadly at a time of no tourists in Kyoto

Oblivious of the virus, Benzaiten serenely strums her biwa. (The two white mice refer to the year of the rat/mouse in the Chinese Zodiac. Benzaiten’s familiar is a white snake.)

Gosho’s Three Shrines (3)

April 29, 2020 / John D. / 2 Comments

Itsukushima Jinja

Gosho’s Itsukushima Shrine stands on a small island surrounded by a pond. To the left is a teahouse, pictured below.

There’s an attractive pond area in the south-west of the Gosho park which contains a shrine for Benzaiten (or Benten for short). It’s named after the famous Itsukushima Shrine near Hiroshima, and was once part of a residential estate belonging to the prestigious Kujo family, one of the five regent houses close to the emperor whose members served as chief advisors. One of the family’s females became wife to Emperor Taisho.

Towards the end of the Edo Era the Tokugawa shogunate yielded to the demands of the USA to open up the country, though the imperial side led by Emperor Komei were strongly opposed. This led to fierce debate about whether or not to sign the Harris Treaty, and negotiations were held here in 1858 at the Kujo residence (Kujo Hisatada was Emperor Komei’s chief advisor).

Today all that remains of the estate is the pond with a Tea Ceremony House and a Benten shrine that served as guardian for the Kujo family. It’s said that the island on which the shrine stands was shaped to resemble that of Itsukushima.

The small shrine bears one striking feature – an unusually shaped torii. The karahafu curve is often seen in shrine architecture, but not in torii. A noticeboard states that it was first built by Taira Kiyomori at the end of the Heian Period, and that it was relocated on more than one occasion, eventually being placed here in Edo times.

The torii is the distinguishing feature of the small Itsukushima Jinja

Associated with water and the subconscious, Benzaiten is patron of the arts and creativity. With origins in India, she is served by a white snake and is the only female aboard the Treasure Boat carrying the Seven Lucky Deities. (Click here to read more about them, and about Benten herself.)

Unlike other Shinto deities, the syncretic and foreign origins of Ben(zai)ten means that she is often portrayed in paintings and statues. (Until the arrival of Buddhism, kami were considered to be unseen spirits and consequently there could exist no representations.) No doubt her status as muse of the arts is conducive too, and the shrine’s ema portrays the goddess with auspicious symbols and in creative mode as the patron saint of music.

Benten as a deity of music, whose favoured instrument is the biwa

Modern representation of Benten, with characteristic water, biwa and white snakes as her spiritual envoy. An Indian touch too, suggestive of her origins as Saraswati.

Benten Sect

March 14, 2020 / John D. / 0 Comments

The Benzaiten statue at Sandanbeki in Shirahama (Wakayama)

The Seven Lucky Gods are one of the most notable features of folk religion in Japan, spanning the artificial divide between Shinto and Buddhism. The most appealing of the seven for those concerned with creativity and the arts is the only female in the group, Benten or as she is also known, Benzaiten. She originated with the Hindu goddess Saraswati, and arrived in Japan after travelling across East Asia sometime around 1300 years ago.

Benten Shrines are associated with water and the unconscious. They are often on small islands or located by ponds. The three most famous are at Itsukushima near Hiroshima, Enoshima at Kamakura, and Tsukubusuma in Lake Biwa.

I’ve always been drawn to Benten shrines, so it was with great excitement that I learnt on a recent trip to Shirahama (in Wakayama) that there is a dedicated Benten sect (Benten-shu, in Japanese). The head shrine of the sect I was told is in Gifu.

The Benten Shrine in Shirahama is located deep in the rock caves of Sandanbeki, once the hangout of pirates. It is now a top tourist sight, with a spectacular effect as the surging waves of the Pacific come thundering into the rocky inlets, throwing spray everywhere and creating a terrifying sound.

The atmospheric shrine is set back from the incoming tide but nevertheless glistens with salty water, a fit environment for the goddess. She is surrounded by a phalanx of statues, each of which possesses an attribute of benefit to the worshipper.

Benten herself was seated like a Thousand-armed Kannon, numerous arms emanating from her body holding the spiritual tools of esoteric Buddhism. Her manifestation in this guise is called Murodaibenzaiten (deity of water).

The sect has its own syncretic way of worshipping, and a noticeboard spelt out the correct manner. No bell, no clapping. “Put your hands together and bow three times and pray,” runs the instruction.

One other feature of interest was the original senja fuda (pilgrimage stickers), oriented to a generation reared on anime and manga. The cost for one was ¥100, and the idea was to choose among the five characters available and fill out your name and address before affixing it to a board or beam.

The five characters, supposedly apprentices to the priest, had powers in different spheres – one for Study and Knowledge, one for Luck with Money, one for Fulfilment in Love, one for Longevity and Health, and one for Traffic Safety. Needless to say, students flocked around them, eager to buy one to record their visit. It provides a striking exemplar of an ancient tradition brought up to date for contemporary tastes.

To learn about nature elements at Benten Shrines, click here. For more on Benten’s roots, here. All about the Seven Lucky Gods, here. For Benten-shu information in Japanese, see here where it is said the purpose of the sect is to commune with ‘the heart of water’.