Benzaiten
Benzaiten (弁才天／弁財天, Japanese pronunciation: [ben.dzaꜜi.teɴ]) is an East Asian Buddhist goddess who originated from the Hindu Devi (天(女), Ten(nyo)) Saraswati, the patroness of speech, the arts, and learning.
Worship of Benzaiten arrived in Japan during the sixth through eighth centuries, mainly via Classical Chinese translations of the Golden Light Sutra (Sanskrit: Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra), which has a section devoted to her. Benzaiten was also syncretized with Japanese kami, and adopted into the Shinto religion, and there are several Shinto shrines dedicated to her. As such, Benzaiten is now also associated with dragons, snakes, local Japanese deities, wealth, fortune, protection from disease and danger, and the protection of the state.
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