Buddha Statues & Japan – April 2012
Hello Readers.
The April newsletter features the first-ever “comprehensive”
web guide to Japan’s water goddess Benzaiten. Many years
went into its production. I hope it will augment the efforts
of students, teachers, art historians, and scholars of Benzaiten
art and lore for years to come. Wait one or two minutes to
let the page load fully into your browser — it’s a big page with
lots of photos. Once loaded, you can begin your Benzaiten
adventure by clicking images for enlarged views & commentary.
The only thing missing is popcorn.
Benzaiten Guidebook. 68 pages, 250 images.
https://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/benzaiten.shtml
Benzaiten is Japan’s preeminent water goddess. The patroness of “all things that flow” — music, art, literature, poetry, discourse, performing arts — she is one of Japan’s most complex deities, having long ago been conflated with other divinities from the Hindu, Buddhist, and Japanese pantheons. Her worship in Japan is widespread. Her many forms range from a two-armed beauty playing music to an eight-armed martial deity holding weapons to a monstrous three-headed snake to a divine representation of Amaterasu (the supreme Shintō sun goddess). This lavishly illustrated and meticulously referenced guidebook offers a wealth of visual and textual data.
- highlights the evolution of Benzaiten’s cult in Japan
- explores Benzaiten’s links to dragons, snake, foxes, and wish-granting jewels
- provides condensed overviews of her myriad forms in Japanese faith and art
- investigates her linkages to other female goddesses in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Shintō camps, including Inari, Amaterasu, Dakini, Nyoirin, and Itsukushima
- pays special attention to Benzaiten’s close ties to Hindu deities
- presents numerous case studies of Benzaiten’s main sanctuaries in modern Japan.
Click below image to begin the adventure.
Benzaiten in Japanese Art and Lore
Please enjoy.
mark from kamakura
