Seven Lucky Gods
Benzaiten is a female "kami" to Shinto with the name . She is also believed by Tendai Buddhists to be the essence of the "kami" Ugajin, whose effigy she sometimes carries on her head together with a "torii" (see photo above). As a consequence, she is sometimes also known as Benzaiten or Uga Benten. Shrine pavilions called either Benten-dō or , or even entire Shinto shrines can be dedicated to her, as in the case of Kamakura's Zeniarai Benzaiten Ugafuku Shrine or Nagoya's Kawahara Shrine. Benzaiten, in Japanese mythology, is also one of the Seven Lucky Gods.