INFORMATION

INFORMATION

Tonosawa Benzaiten

Update:2021.03.01

The small temple and shrine grouping is located on the platform of Tonosawa Station of the Hakone Tozan Railway along a small stream in the forest.

The deity of the shrine is Seoritsuhime no Okami. She is the goddess of water, waterfalls, rivers, and purification. She is also said to take the form of a white snake. The shrine was built in 1926 when a white snake appeared in the dream of a businessman who often stayed at a Tonosawa Onsen. This dream led him to build a small stone shrine here where the clear streams flow to enshrine the deity.

Another enshrined spirit is of Benzaiten who is the goddess of knowledge, beauty, and the arts. The Fukazawa Zen-arai Benzaiten was located by the Benten Pond at the foot of the mountain, but in 1926 it was built at the present location on the ground level of the Hakone Tozan Railway up platform. There are a few small ponds with koi fish and one has a small basket to lower your money into the water to rinse. It is said that washing your money will multiply its value in the future.

The Kannon (Goddess of Mercy) was also enshrined in a rocky area along a small stream leading to the Hayakawa River, but was moved to the side of Fukazawa Zenarai Benzaiten in 1945. This is a peaceful spot and all you can hear is the sound of the stream and the wind blowing through the trees and perhaps the sounds of frogs in spring.