In the Enoshima engi 江島縁起, famous monks witness the hierophany of Shōjin Benzai-ten 生身弁才天. This study considers two issues related to this topic.
First, in the Enoshima engi, the words shōjin 生身 and shinjin 真身 are used interchangeably. Medieval narratives in Japan contain several examples in which the two words are used in this manner. The Enoshima-engi may have been influenced by this tendency.
Second, the Enoshima engi quotes the Annen Kashō-ki 安然和尚記. Similar sentences are found in many places in the Keiran Shūyōshū 渓嵐拾葉集, in quotations of passages attributed to Annen 安然. As a result, the author of the Enoshima engi, who respected Annen, adopted this idea. Thus, the Enoshima engi not only quotes the Annen Kashō-ki but also emphasizes Shōjin Benzai-ten in the parts that were written about other monks, such as En no Gyōja 役行者and Kūkai 空海.
