The Goddess of Music and Good Fortune October 1, 2011

Benzaiten, the goddess of music and good fortune, has been revered in Japan from ancient times to the present. This exhibition explores the long-lasting popularity of the goddess in Japanese culture and the iconographical transformations of her image over 500 years. See her beginnings as a beautiful musician with a lute, how she adopted the role of a fearsome fighter with eight hands brandishing weapons, and finally her current personage as a friendly, folk-religious icon of modern Japan. 'The Goddess of Music and Good Fortune' features striking representations of the deity that demonstrate her enduring appeal.