("Seven Deities of Good Luck")
A treasure ship
| Shichifukujin are the seven gods that bring good luck. They consist of gods and holy persons of Buddhism, Shinto and Taoism and are often drawn riding in a treasure ship (See above). Nowadays, at temples and shrines with Shichifukujin connections, people pray for long life and family well-being, and merchants, hoping for business success, display Shichifukujin pictures. |
 | A syncretic deity uniting the Indian god Mahakala with the Deity Oh-kuninushi (great land-possesor, which can also be read "dai-koku") and identified variously as the god of the kitchen, of wealth or fortune, and especially in Kyushu as kami of the ricefields and of agriculture. |
 | An extremely popular deity of prosperity thought originally to have come from the sea bringing blessings from a distant country. He is closely linked with Daikoku-ten and variously identified with the Buddhist Fudo, with Hiru-ko-no-kami and, especially since the Meiji separation of kami and buddhas, with Koto-shiro-nushi-no-kami who unlike Ebisu features in the Kojiki. |
 | He is of Indian Buddhist origin (Sanskrit: Vaishravana), one of the shi-tenno (Four Heavenly Kings) and a symbol of authority. According to Buddhist lore he lives in the fourth layer of Mt. Sumeru, the mountain at the center of the world, and protects the northern quarter and the preaching-place of the Buddha. He is represented as a fierce warrior in full armour with a spear in one hand and a "treasure tower" or pagoda in the other. |
 | Originally Sarasvati, a deity of Hindu origin introduced to Japan with Buddhism and associated with the arts and music. In Japan she has been credited with the power to grant longevity, eloquence, wisdom and military victory as well as providing protection from natural disasters. Her symbol is the biwa (lute) and she is often represented with coils of snakes, believed to stand for jealously, which discourages married couples from visiting her shrine together. She has a "Shinto" name, ichikishima-bime-no-mikoto but often neither priests nor worshippers distinguish her as being particularly Shinto or Buddhist. |
 | A Taoist god of popularity, his name means happiness-wealth-longevity. He is believed to have been a Chinese hermit of the Sung dynasty and is represented by as a small elderly man with a long bald head. He is sometimes escorted by a crane, deer or tortoise and carries a book of sacred teachings tied to his staff, similar to Jurojin. |
 | A Taoist deity of longevity, in Japan one of the Shichifukujin. |
 | A deity of contentment and abundance, Taoist in origin. He is one of the Shichifukujin, seven gods of good luck. |
Onisaburo hails Shichifukujin as epitomizing all the virtues of God.
Shichifukujin
by Onisaburo
