Overview
A shrine in Kamakura. Money washed in the spring inside the cave is said to increase.
About this place
Zeniarai Benzaiten Ugafuku Shrine (銭洗弁財天宇賀福神社, Zeniarai Benzaiten Ugafuku Jinja), popularly known as Zeniarai Benten, is a Shinto shrine in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is a small shrine, but the second most popular spot in Kamakura after Tsurugaoka Hachimangū. Zeniarai Benzaiten is popular among tourists because the waters of a spring in its cave are said to be able to multiply the money washed in it. The object of worship is a syncretic kami that fuses a traditional spirit called Ugafukujin (宇賀福神) with the Buddhist goddess of Indian origin Sarasvati, known in Japanese as Benzaiten. The shrine is one of the minority in Japan that still shows the fusion of native religious beliefs and foreign Buddhism (the so-called shinbutsu shūgō), which was normal before the Meiji restoration (end of the 19th century). Zeniarai Benzaiten used to be an external massha of Ōgigayatsu's Yazaka Daijin (八坂大神), but became independent in 1970 under its present name.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source ja.wikipedia.org ↗Before you go
Three questions from the World Question Box that relate to this entry.
Same place in other collections
More in Shrines & Temples
Check before you visit · References
The original sources are listed here. Confirm opening hours, whether visits are accepted, fees and access with the latest official information.
Crafts and specialties of this prefecture
Written by Value Village from public sources. Nothing here is reproduced from another site. Languages: ja / en / zh
Instagram posts from Kanagawa (from official accounts)
There are no posts linked to this place yet. Posts from the prefecture's official accounts are shown, rotating every minute.