Enoshima Engi
Encyclopedia
The Enoshima Engi is a history of the temples and shrines on Enoshima
Island in Sagami Bay
. It was written in Chinese
, the scholarly language of the time, by the Japanese Buddhist monk Kōkei in 1047 AD.
The Enoshima Engi consists of two parts. The first tells the story of the tribulations of prehistoric villagers who lived in the vicinity of Enoshima. The villagers were plagued for a period of a thousand-some years by a destructive, five-headed dragon
that had its lair in a nearby lake. Aware of their suffering, on May 31, 552 AD, the goddess Benzaiten
caused the island of Enoshima to arise from the bottom of the bay to serve as her abode. She then descended onto the island amidst a series of spectacular terrestrial and aerial phenomena. The dragon fell in love with the beautiful goddess and asked her to be his consort. Benzaiten, who was widely known for her persuasive eloquence, rejected the dragon's proposal and made it understand that it had been doing wrong by plaguing the villagers. Ashamed, the dragon promised to cease its wrong-doing. It then faced south (devotedly facing the island where Benzaiten lived) and changed into a hill. To this day, the hill is known as Dragon's-Mouth Hill (Japanese: tatsu-no-kuchi yama 龍の口山).
Although this story seems fantastic on the surface, it very likely contains many factual elements. The dragon, for example, is probably a metaphor for the water of a violent local river that is still notorious for its floods. Its five heads were probably four of the river's tributaries plus the mouth of the river. The descent of the goddess may have been inspired by aerial phenomena such as the passage of a large meteor.
The second part of the Enoshima Engi relates visits to Enoshima by eminent monks. Among the visitors was Jikaku Daishi (慈覺大師), the posthumous name of Ennin
(圓仁, 792-862 AD), the third chief priest of Enryaku-ji (延暦寺), the center of Buddhism in Japan.
Enoshima
is a small island, about 4 km in circumference, at the mouth of the Katase River, which flows into Sagami Bay in Japan. Part of the city of Fujisawa, it is linked to the Katase section of the same city on the mainland by a 600 meter-long bridge...
Island in Sagami Bay
Sagami Bay
Sagami Bay , also known as the Sagami Gulf or Sagami Sea, lies south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshū, central Japan, contained within the scope of the Miura Peninsula, in Kanagawa, to the east, the Izu Peninsula, in Shizuoka Prefecture, to the west, and the Shōnan coastline to the north, while the...
. It was written in Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, the scholarly language of the time, by the Japanese Buddhist monk Kōkei in 1047 AD.
The Enoshima Engi consists of two parts. The first tells the story of the tribulations of prehistoric villagers who lived in the vicinity of Enoshima. The villagers were plagued for a period of a thousand-some years by a destructive, five-headed dragon
Chinese dragon
Chinese dragons are legendary creatures in Chinese mythology and folklore, with mythic counterparts among Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Bhutanese, Western and Turkic dragons. In Chinese art, dragons are typically portrayed as long, scaled, serpentine creatures with four legs...
that had its lair in a nearby lake. Aware of their suffering, on May 31, 552 AD, the goddess Benzaiten
Benzaiten
Benzaiten is the Japanese name for the Hindu goddess Saraswati. Worship of Benzaiten arrived in Japan during the 6th through 8th centuries, mainly via the Chinese translations of the Sutra of Golden Light, which has a section devoted to her...
caused the island of Enoshima to arise from the bottom of the bay to serve as her abode. She then descended onto the island amidst a series of spectacular terrestrial and aerial phenomena. The dragon fell in love with the beautiful goddess and asked her to be his consort. Benzaiten, who was widely known for her persuasive eloquence, rejected the dragon's proposal and made it understand that it had been doing wrong by plaguing the villagers. Ashamed, the dragon promised to cease its wrong-doing. It then faced south (devotedly facing the island where Benzaiten lived) and changed into a hill. To this day, the hill is known as Dragon's-Mouth Hill (Japanese: tatsu-no-kuchi yama 龍の口山).
Although this story seems fantastic on the surface, it very likely contains many factual elements. The dragon, for example, is probably a metaphor for the water of a violent local river that is still notorious for its floods. Its five heads were probably four of the river's tributaries plus the mouth of the river. The descent of the goddess may have been inspired by aerial phenomena such as the passage of a large meteor.
The second part of the Enoshima Engi relates visits to Enoshima by eminent monks. Among the visitors was Jikaku Daishi (慈覺大師), the posthumous name of Ennin
Ennin
Ennin , who is better known in Japan by his posthumous name, Jikaku Daishi , was a priest of the Tendai school.- Birth and origin :...
(圓仁, 792-862 AD), the third chief priest of Enryaku-ji (延暦寺), the center of Buddhism in Japan.