弁才天

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Japanese

Kanji in this term
べん
Grade: 5
ざい
Grade: 2
てん
Grade: 1
goon on'yomi
Alternative spellings
辯才天 (kyūjitai)
弁財天
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弁才天 (Benzaiten): the goddess Benzaiten or Saraswati.

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 辯才天 (MC bjenX dzoj then, literally “Eloquent Deva”). First referenced in Japanese in the 700s in the 最勝王経 (Saishōō-kyō, Golden Light of the Most Victorious Kings Sutra).[1]

The Hindu goddess Sarasvati entered Japanese Buddhism during the late Heian period (794–1185).[2] She came to be regarded in Japan as a goddess of wealth, and her name written as 弁財天 (Benzaiten) with the character (zai, treasure).[3] The name is attested with (sai, genius) as 辯才天 from the thirteenth century,[2] with the initial character simplified to in modern Japanese.

Pronunciation

Proper noun

(べん)(ざい)(てん) (Benzaiten

  1. (Buddhism, Shinto) Benzaiten, Japanese name for the Hindu and Buddhist goddess Saraswati
    Synonym: 弁天 (Benten)

References

  1. ^ 弁才天・辯才天・弁財天・辨財天”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  2. 2.0 2.1 弁才天”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  3. ^ 弁才天”, in 日本大百科全書:ニッポニカ (Nippon Dai Hyakka Zensho: Nipponica, Encyclopedia Nipponica) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 1984
  4. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN