Ryuren no Kane

The further up I walked on Enoshima the fewer people I met. When I turned left strolling through the Tatsunogaoka woods I was almost on my own. At the end of the lonely path through the trees which leads to a cliff overlooking the ocean, I found a pavilion with a bell built as late as the 1960s by the Tourist Association. Reading the noticeboard I was once more surprised about the richness in legend and spiritual history of the island. As the legend goes, once upon a time a bad dragon with five heads tormented the people of the prefecture. For many days dense clouds developed over the sea while heaven and earth quaked violently. Suddenly a heavenly maiden appeared, the clouds cleared and the island of Enoshima was born. No wonder the dragon fell in love and even proposed but was only accepted when we he changed his bad manners.
Nowadays the heavenly maid is worshipped as Benten and the dragon as Ryujin. This romantic site commemorates their love and is said to be very popular. When I approached it I watched a middle aged couple looking out to sea and ringing the bell together, so vowing each other eternal love.





I was puzzled to see hundreds of padlocks, with initials and messages all over, locked to the fence in front of the structure as I have never seen love locks before. This beautiful spot certainly inspires couples to attach them here as symbols for their love.