Daily Deity #239 Ebisu

With summer officially starting tomorrow it seemed that a good subject for today's Daily Deity would involve a god that dealt with one of the many traditions of this season. For myself, fishing is one of those traditions which lead me to choose the Shinto god, Ebisu. 

Before we get into what Ebisu does, we need to discuss his parentage. There are two contested origins of Ebisu. One states that he is the son of Daikoku, a god of wealth. Another states that he has some connection to Koto-shiro-nushi, and if he is this god, that would make him the son of Okuninushi, but this is also a debated claim. It is most likely, and more commonly stated, that Ebisu is the son of top gods Izanami and Izanagi. When he is related to these two Ebisu is thought to have first been Hiruko, who is first child of the cosmic pair, but born deformed. The name Hiruko translates to "leech child" which indicates fairly well what was felt about this child. Izanami and Izanagi eventually set Hiruko off to sea on a boat made of reeds. If Hiruko is in fact the same god as Ebisu, that means that Hiruko learned how to fish on his reed boat and eventually made it back to Japan. 

Whatever the case is, Ebisu is a god that seemingly has no ill-will towards anybody. Ebisu is actually one of the Shichi-fuku-jin, who are the seven Japanese gods of luck. His fellow luck gods are Benten, Bishamon, Fukurokuju, Iurogin, Daikoku, and Hotei. Each of these gods have their own subset of influence over a certain activity or job or concept. As well, these gods aren't related by blood. They aren't all siblings or father and child or such. In fact, they weren't even linked together as luck gods until several centuries of their existence. 

As stated before Ebisu is the god of fishing, as well as a luck god and also a god that is said to represent people like fishermen and the average working man. He is usually connected with Daikoku here as both luck gods are said to preside over shops and other small businesses and the people who work in them. 

Yet, the true center of Ebisu lies in his love of fishing and this is especially shown in his appearance. The best way to describe his physique is by saying that he is Santa Claus-esque, in both his round belly and jolly smile. In one hand Ebisu holds a fishing pole and in the other a fish, commonly depicted to be a red snapper. This image of Ebisu can be found throughout Japan, because even though he is a god most associated with fishing, he is a god that seems to be willing to help anyone who needs a little luck.