Bring Prosperity and Good Fortune! Zeniarai Benzaiten Ugafuku-jinja Shrine

In the year 1185, at the “Time of the Snake” on the “Day of the Snake” in the “Month of the Snake,” Minamoto no Yoritomo had a dream. In the dream, the goddess Ugajin spoke to him, saying: “if you pray to the Shinto deities and to the Buddha with the water which springs out here, a time of peace will come.” Following the instructions that he had received in the dream, Yoritomo found sacred water springing out from the stone cliffs of Sasukegayatsu Valley, where he built a small shrine dedicated to Ugajin.
Over a century later, in 1257, once again in the “Year of the Snake,” Hojo Tokiyori, the 5th Shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate, washed his coins with the sacred water and prayed for the prosperity of his family. This is said to be the origin of the continuing tradition of coin-washing at the shrine.

(1) Buy an incense stick and candle at the shrine office
Go through the stone tunnel and the torii gate, then wash your hands with water at the Chozuya (a place for purifying your hands and mouth before worshipping) to purify yourself, buy an incense stick and a candle to serve as an offering (\100 for a set), and then borrow a bamboo basket to use when cleansing your money (basket rental is free of charge).

(2) Pray at the Main Shrine
Offer a candle by placing it on the candle stand near the Main Shrine. Get a light for the candle from a distinctly bright flame of another candle that has already been offered.

Light the incense stick and offer it up by placing it on the incense stick stand. Then purify yourself with its smoke. When you have finished, pray at the Main Shrine.

(3) Visit the Okunomiya Shrine behind the Main Shrine
After praying at the Main Shrine, enter the cave; the Okunomiya Shrine is located on the right. Be sure to stop at the shrine first before proceeding onwards into the depths of the cave where the sacred water flows.

(4) Cleanse your money with the sacred water
Put your money into the bamboo basket that you borrowed and then cleanse your money with about three scoops of water. Just a few drops of water over the tip of the money is enough to bring you blessings.

(5) Return the borrowed basket after wiping the remaining water away with your handkerchief, etc.
After cleansing your money, wipe carefully with a handkerchief, etc. and return the money into your wallet or purse. Also, return the bamboo basket to the designated place in the cave.
Some people spend the purified money and some don’t. It is said that people who spend it receive more blessings.

Zeniarai Benzaiten Shrine has other three sacred places. Let’s visit them!

Shichifuku-jinja Shrine
This shrine is dedicated to the Seven Deities of Good Fortune, including Daikokuten, Benzaiten, and Bishamonten. Praying here is said to help business owners to prosper.

Shimonomizu-jingu Shrine
This shrine is dedicated to Mizuhanomeno-kami, the deity of water, a guardian deity who protects the sluice gate for the whole Ugafuku-jinja Shrine.

Kaminomizu-jingu Shrine
This shrine is also dedicated to Mizuhanomeno-kami, the deity of water. Be sure to pay your respect to the deity, who stands as if stuck to the surface of the rock wall.

Zeniarai Benzaiten Ugafuku Shrine

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Kanagawa Pref. Kamakurashi Sasuke 2-25-16

0467251081

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