Chōkenji Temple

Identified by its red lacquer Chinese gate, Chokenji is a Shingon Buddhist temple in Fushimi founded in 1699. The temple enshrines Benzaiten, the only female member of Japan's Seven Lucky Gods, whose origins trace to the Hindu river deity Saraswati. Pure spring water, called Akamizu from the Sanskrit word for merit, flows up from the ground beside her hall. The water is among Fushimi's celebrated springs. Tucked into the west corner of the grounds is an older stone lantern whose base bears a small carved image of the Virgin Mary, a remnant of the secret Christian faith practiced here during the Edo period when professing Christianity was punishable by death.