Biwajima Shrine

"This Shinto shrine is located on a round island sticking out into Hirakata Bay a three-minute walk from Kanazawa-Hakkei Station. Facing the approach to Seto Shrine, the shrine's name comes from the fact that the island on which it sits along with the road leading to the shrine resembles the shape of a biwa, a Japanese lute. According to legend, the shrine and the island itself were built for the Chikubushima Benzaiten, a god in which political leader Hojo Masako believed in, when Seto Shrine was built in 1180 by Minamoto no Yoritomo to enshrine the ritually transferred spirit of the god of Izu Mishima Shrine. The Fuku-ishi, one of the Four Stones of Kanazawa, stands near the entrance to the shrine's approach; a monument inscribed with a reconstructed monument engraved with the poem ""Sogiro"" stands on the grounds."