In Japan, there are seven gods called the Seven Gods of Good Fortune who have been familiar to people since ancient times.
To be precise, “Shichifukujin” is the collective name for seven gods.
The names of the seven gods are Ebisu, Daikokuten, Bishamonten, Benzaiten, Hotei, Fukurokuju, and Jurojin.
The seven gods are famous for their appearance on a treasure ship filled with gold, silver, and treasure, and are believed to bring good fortune and happiness to the people.
Some of you may be wondering, “What does a Japanese musical instrument have to do with the Shichifukujin?”
Actually, there is a god among the “Shichifukujin” who possesses a Japanese musical instrument.
Her name is Benzaiten, the only goddess among the Shichifukujin who takes the form of a celestial maiden and carries a biwa (Japanese lute).
Originally, she was worshipped as a goddess of water, but later she came to be worshipped as a deity with benefits related to the performing arts.
There are various theories as to why she, originally the god of water, has a biwa, but one theory is that she came to have a musical instrument that plays a sound similar to the sound of water.
In other words, the sound of the biwa is similar to the sound of water.
After hearing this story, when you look at the biwa, doesn’t it seem like a very sacred instrument?
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