Jaee Vartak of Enso School of Languages often shares posts on Instagram, teaching her followers how to speak Japanese. In a recent post, titled 'Indian Gods in Japan', she shared how Indian Gods and Goddesses have had a significant influence on Japanese Buddhism. Also read | Art exhibition explores elements of Indian mythology, religion and folklore
Indian deities and their Japanese counterparts
Did you know that the Hindu God Shiva is known as Daijizaiten in Japanese Buddhism? Or that Lord Ganesha, the remover of obstacles, is revered as Kangiten in Japanese Buddhism and Maa Saraswati, the Hindu Goddess of knowledge and arts, is known as Benzaiten in Japanese Buddhism? Even Lakshmi, the Hindu Goddess of prosperity and good fortune, is revered as Kisshoten in Japanese Buddhism.
Jaee highlighted in her post how Hindu Gods and Goddesses are an integral part of Japanese Buddhist mythology and iconography. She wrote, “Across cultures and continents, India and Japan share ancient connections through their gods. From the revered Saraswati in India to Benzaiten in Japan, both goddesses embody wisdom, knowledge, and the arts. A reminder of how spirituality transcends borders.”
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{{/usCountry}}Origins of 'Japan's Saraswati'
In a 2024 piece, titled 'How Saraswati Reached Japan', writer Devdutt Pattanaik highlighted how Benzaiten has been linked to Goddess Saraswati. He wrote, “The Saraswati of Japan is worshipped for knowledge or music, and the ability to discourse eloquently or argue brilliantly. Furthermore, she is linked with wealth, prosperity, fertility and beauty like Lakshmi. She is also visualised with multiple arms holding swords in her hands, like Durga. It was in this warrior form that she was worshipped by the Samurai.”
The Indian deities were incorporated into Japanese Buddhism through the Silk Road and other cultural exchange routes. Devdutt Pattanaik wrote, “As Buddhist monks travelled along with sailors to Southeast Asia and beyond to China, they took with them many images. The most popular was the Buddha. But after the 7th century, one sees images of Avlokiteshwara, the God who rescues sailors, visualised holding a lotus with an image of a Buddha on his head. This is when Saraswati starts her journey from India to the Far East.”
Japan's link to Lakshmi and Ganesha
Interestingly, according to a 2019 piece by Peepultree.world, there are ‘more than 250 temples across Japan dedicated to Ganesha’, who is locally known by different names like Kangiten, Shoten, Ganabachi (Ganapathy), or Binayakaten.
In 2018, a Japantoday.com report stated that the name of 'Tokyo’s most livable neighbourhood', Kichijoji was derived from the Hindu Goddess of wealth, fortune and posterity, Lakshmi, 'known as Kichijoten in her Japanese Buddhist form'. The temple dedicated to this Goddess, Kichijo-ji, was originally located in Bunkyo-ku before being lost in a fire in 1657.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only.