Ejima Shrine

The Enoshima Shrine is a Shinto complex of three sanctuaries spread across the small tidal island of Enoshima in Sagami Bay, off Fujisawa. Tradition dates its founding to a vision of Emperor Kinmei in 552 AD, and legend says the island itself was raised from the sea in the 6th century by the goddess Benzaiten in order to subdue a dragon that had been terrorizing the region. Benzaiten, the Japanese deity of music, eloquence and water, is the principal object of worship; a nude 13th-century wooden statue of her here is among the most famous icons in Japan. From the lower Hetsunomiya at the foot of the island the pilgrim path climbs past tea stalls and souvenir lanes through Nakatsunomiya to Okutsunomiya near the coast, with views of Mount Fuji on clear days.