Zeniarai Benzaiten is a shrine in the hills above Kamakura where visitors can wash money for good luck. Zeniarai literally means "coin washing" and it is believed that the value of whatever you wash will be doubled. The shrine was founded by Minamoto no Yoritomo after he had a dream that Benzaiten, one of the Seven Gods of Fortune, appeared in his dreams and ordered him to construct the shrine. The shrine was opened on the day of the snake, in the month of the snake, in the year of the snake, and Benzaiten is associated with snakes.

For the casual: 8. For the educated: 8.

This shrine is a little hard to get to because it's off of the main roads in town and the hill it's up is fairly steep, but once there, there are numerous small shrines to various deities. Even after the shrine is closed, there are still little bamboo-weave bowls for you to wash your money in. To wash your money, visitors enter the shrine cave where a wash bed is set up for money washing. If you happened to wash paper bills, there are drying stations where you place your money on top and the heat dries the money. Make sure you carry the money with you so that the good luck effects are put to use. To complete the cycle of good luck, the idea is to spend that special money on something important to you. I spent my money on a beautiful hand carved wooden bowl.

Waiting at the drying station for money to dry.

My friend Tulga improvising a purification thing because apparently washing the money in holy water wasn't enough.

Earlier I talked about Enoshima Jinja which was dedicated to Benzaiten, a Chinese goddess who was incorporated into Shinto belief but is also found in Buddhist contexts as well. Like Enoshima Jinja, Benten-do is on an island in the middle of a large pond in Ueno Park. Benzaiten is believed to live on an island which is why you can find her temples/shrines in locations associated with water.

For the casual: 6. For the educated: 6.

Much of the beauty of this temple comes from what time of the year it is. The pond is filled with lotus flowers making it amazing in late summer, but the rest of the time it can be a little difficult to look at. The temple is a lovely building with a massive lantern taking up much of the interior.