Mt. Benten (Bentendake)

Mt. Benten is one of the peaks surrounding the Koyasan plateau, and a Shinto shrine at its summit venerates Benzaiten, the goddess of everything that flows: music, water, time, speech, and wisdom. She is revered in both Shinto and Buddhist traditions and is believed to protect the springs supplying water to Koyasan. According to an ancient record, Kobo Daishi (Kukai) traveled to Nara to invite Benzaiten to guard his new Buddhist center at Koyasan. She agreed, and he buried an enchanted pearl at the mountain's summit to anchor her presence there. In addition to the summit shrine, six smaller shrines dedicated to Benzaiten stand at various points across the Koyasan plateau.