On July 2, at the lowest tide of the year, my neighbors and I prayed to the goddess of the sea. The islanders call her Benten (also known as Benzaiten), and she lives on her own special island, just off the coast of Shiraishi Island. Here she convenes with the sea and brings us luck, prosperity (well, most of the time) and protects us from evil.
It is at this time every year that Benten extends an invitation to us to come and worship her in her own little festival. This very low tide exposes a sandbar that connects her island with ours, and serves as a walkway adorned by a stone lantern that appears to be floating when the tide is high. On normal days, even at low tide you have to trudge out in knee-deep water to get to Benten Island. Perhaps this is to keep out the paparazzi. Goddesses are pretty hot stuff after all.
Nature gods and goddesses are numerous in Japan and reflect a mix of Buddhism and Japan's folk religion of Shinto. And when you live on a small island in the Seto Inland Sea vulnerable to typhoons and high seas, some of your best friends are gods. We rely on them to protect us.