Ebisu: The Lucky God of Fishermen

The picture below is a member of the Seven Lucky Gods (Shichi-fuku-jin). His name is Ebisu-sama. He looks really happy with a big smile. When you search for his image on the internet, he always seems happy, to the point where he’s often called “the laughing God”. But his life story wasn’t so blessed.

The story of Ebisu-sama

He was born with some physical challenges and was called Hiruko (蛭子) as a child (Hiru is a leech). Which doesn’t give positive image because his legs and arms were like frogs and he had bad hearing. In ancient Japan, we had a way of thinking to avoid impurities such as death, blood, sickness and so on and you should keep those away from people.

Even though he was born between famed Gods, they threw him away into the river as his father didn’t want to admit Hiruko was his child. He floated on the ocean until he was saved by a fisherman in Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan. People there gave him a new name 夷 (Ebisu) 三郎 (Saburo) which means a visitor from another place. Afterwards, the people there brought him up with extra care. That explains the reason why he is depicted with a fishing rod and a red snapper. After the fisherman rescued him, the fish market around there prospered. That’s how he ended up being known as a God of Fishing and business. Knowing his history, I feel the smile on his face could contains the deeper meaning than just a happy man.

The paired God 

When you put Ebisu-sama on a shrine, you normally display Daikoku-sama next to him as well. Another one of the Seven Lucky Gods.

They are often considered as a pair. The one who has a huge sack behind his back filled with treasures and a magic mallet is Daikoku-sama. Together, their pairing symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

The festival for business holders

Usually, people hold festivals for Gods to appreciate and praise them. So of course there’s a festival that’s relevant to Ebisu-sama. It’s called “Ebessan” or “Toka Ebisu” (Toka = 10th day of the month) In the Osaka dialect, Ebisu-sama was corrupted and became “Ebessan”. You might be able to guess, the festival is mostly held around the Kansai area. The Kanto area has similar but slightly different festival.

Anyways, the Toka Ebisu is to bring you success in business as well as to get a big catch if you’re a fisherman. It has some specific manners to follow when you participate and three head (main) shrines that you want to go to.

Ebbesan is held on the 9th, 10th, and 11th of January every year. As it’s called Toka Ebisu, the main day is the 10th. However, Japanese people believe there’s a fortune spillover so some people choose the 9th and 11th too.

1. Nishinomiya Shrine (Hyogo)

As Ebisu-sama drifted to Nishinomiya in the legend, Nishinomiya Shrine was just made to enshrine Ebisu-sama originally. Accordingly, they hold a big festival. One thing that only they do is to decide “Fuku Otoko” (a fortunate man of the year). Regardless of the name of a fortune “man”, women can join too. People chosen by a lottery run from the entrance gate to the main shrine (230m) at 4 am. The three fastest people are believed to be blessed for a year. They can also receive some prizes too. The competition is exhilaratingly broadcasted on TV every year.

2. Imamiya Ebisu (Osaka) 

The current Osaka shrine is located in the middle of the city, just 20 minute-ish walk from Otaku Road (Den Den Town) downtown, but it used to be located close to the shore. Where they enshrine Ebisu-sama, a million people come visit to the festival each year! There are a huge variety of types of food and drink stalls so outside of praying, you can enjoy walking around and spending a day with alcohol and festival foods. If you go there, prepare an empty stomach.

When you enter the Shrine, you will see several women with shining smiles. Imamiya Ebisu embraces the “Fuku Musume” (福むすめ) or “lucky girl”. They are 50 unmarried ladies between 18 to 25 years old. The shrine takes applications openly and recently, a handful of the spots are reserved for foreign women. They help the shrine prepare the festival for the year but mainly they serve for the 3 days of the festival with a special uniform which is a long white dress and a golden headgear. In addition to that honor along with the feeling of God’s protection, you can get paid 150,000 yen (Around $950) for the service. Many people apply for the position and the competition is so strong that it reaches 70-75 applicants.

3. Kyoto Ebisu Shrine (Kyoto)

This shrine started the custom of bringing bamboo trees which eventually became a tradition for all the three head shrines. What’s more, they have fun things to do even if you go there outside of the festival period. When you get there, you should look up to the gate. You can find the Ebisu face and a rake. If you can throw the coin in the rake, it’s said your wish will comes true as it symbolizes “raking in fortune”. It seems difficult but the tip is to use heavier coins than the 1 yen coin. I guess to succeed in business you should try a couple of times and you can’t be cheap.

Please note: It’s prohibited to challenge on the festival day due to overcrowding.

One thing that is different from other shrines is the way to greet the God.  You have to knock on the door on the left side of the main shrine after praying in front of the main one. It’s because Ebisu-sama doesn’t have good hearing like I mentioned earlier.

If you have an old wallet or business card, please bring them with you to the Shrine. A Shinto priest will get them burned for a memorial service. This tradition is a new one that’s less than 100 years old and it’s meant to express gratitude to old connections and to make way for new ones.

Manners, what to do?

The most iconic thing about the Ebisu festival is that you get a bamboo tree branch and put charms on it. If you take part in the festival the former year, you bring the old one to burn. You give the old one at the entrance and go straight to the main shrine. I know there will be many attractive food or game stalls, but still, greeting Ebisu-sama is the first thing to do. You throw a coin (ideally more than 5 yen) into the donation box, bow twice and clap twice. Then you put your hands together, close your eyes and make a wish with your eyes closed.

On your way out, you go get a new bamboo. What’s the bamboo something to do with the festival? Bamboo isn’t easily bent and its leaves don’t fall, which it symbolizes longevity and prosperity. Also, Ebisu Sama’s fish rod was made from bamboo trees.

Now you have a fresh and lush bamboo in your hand. It’s time to put your wish onto it with some charms. They are commonly shaped as things associated with Ebisu-sama like red snapper, oval gold coins or even Ebisu-sama himself! They are pretty expensive. Some could cost more than 5000 yen ($35). Nevertheless, you want to get at least one.

After that, enjoy the festival! One thing you should remember is to hold the bamboo tightly. I once almost forgot it because I was having too much fun during the festival. It sounds obviously inappropriate so I was scared of being punished.

When you get home, you should place the bamboo higher than your level of eyesight facing east or south. It will turn brown and wither, don’t worry. You keep it until the festival the next year where you’ll return the old one for burning.

You can make a wish even if you are not a business owner, the blessing of prosperity is for everyone. Just looking at the Ebisu-sama’s smile and feeling the atmosphere of people hyped up during the festival should put a smile on your face. Night time is even more appealing as many lanterns are lit up.

FAQ