According to the Enoshima Engi chronicle, a five-headed dragon that ravaged the local villages fell in love with the goddess Benzaiten, who rose from the sea, reformed its ways and in time became a hill that protects the villages. Enoshima Shrine is one of Japan's three great Benzaiten shrines.
Legend Site
Enoshima (The Five-Headed Dragon and Benzaiten)
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Positions on the map are a rough guide to the area where a legend or sighting is set. Most pins are placed at representative points of a municipality or prefecture (outside Japan, a city position rounded to about 10 km, or the country), not at the exact place.
Municipality points: Geolonia address data (CC BY 4.0), based on the Address Base Registry (Digital Agency of Japan) / Country points: Natural Earth
| Encyclopedia | Ryu (Japanese Dragon) |
|---|---|
| Location | Kanagawa Fujisawa |
| Type of place | Shrine or temple |
| Map position | Approximately the actual place |
A sacred creature with a long, snake-like body, horns and scales that governs water and rain. It came to Japan from China, where belief in the dragon god Ryujin, master of lakes, rivers and ponds, took deep root.