Tenkawa Daibenzaiten-sha in Tenkawa Village, Yoshino, Nara, is one of Japan's three great Benzaiten shrines and is deeply revered by artists and musicians nationwide as a deity of the performing arts. It is said to have been founded by the ascetic En no Gyoja when he opened Mt. Omine in the Asuka period, and records show Emperor Tenmu offered gratitude here after his victory in the Jinshin War. Th…

Tenkawa Daibenzaiten-sha is traditionally said to have been founded around 650 CE by En no Gyoja (En no Ozunu) when he opened Mt. Omine as a center of Shugendo ascetic practice. Enshrined in the sacred valley of Tenkawa, the site has long been venerated as a dwelling place of the deity of water and …