Benzaiten (Goddess of Music and Art) Coloring Page

This coloring page portrays Benzaiten, the goddess of music, art, and learning, gracefully cradling her biwa lute. Keeping her flowing robes in soft, muted colors brings out the refined elegance of a goddess devoted to the arts, and a touch of gold on her jewelry adds a lovely finishing sparkle. It's a wonderful coloring page for senior recreation, care facilities, day service programs, and brain training — free to print at A4 size.

About Benzaiten

Benzaiten is the only goddess among Japan's Seven Lucky Gods (Shichifukujin), a group of deities believed to bring happiness, prosperity, and good fortune. She traces her roots to Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of rivers, wisdom, and the arts, whose worship traveled from India through China and Korea before taking hold in Japan well over a thousand years ago. Because of this connection to flowing water, shrines dedicated to her are traditionally built beside ponds, rivers, or the sea — the shrine on the small tidal island of Enoshima, not far from Tokyo, is one of the most famous. Over the centuries she became especially linked with music, eloquence, and learning, and she is almost always pictured cradling a biwa, a pear-shaped lute that was treasured by court musicians in old Japan.

For coloring, the biwa held in her arms is the natural centerpiece of the page — a warm wood tone with a slightly darker soundhole and a few fine pale lines for the strings gives it real presence without a lot of fuss. Her flowing robes and the scarf draped over her shoulders leave plenty of open space for soft, harmonious colors; many people find that a gentle, pastel palette — powder blue, blush pink, soft lavender — suits a goddess of music and refinement especially well, while touching her crown, hair ornaments, and other jewelry with gold or yellow adds a lovely bit of sparkle without extra detail work. The long flowing hair and the folds of drapery also give large, repeating shapes that are simple and satisfying to fill in, making this a relaxing picture to settle into.