Ebisu and Daikokuten – Kanda Myojin

At a festival in Kanda Myojin near the famous Akihabara district in central Tokyo I saw these two dressed up Gods from the Japanese mythological pantheon, Ebisu and Daikokuten. They are both members of the most commonly appearing Japanese God “band”, the Seven Gods of Fortune (七福神 Shichifukujin). Ebisu is the slightly crippled and deaf God of fishermen, workingmen and luck, and is usually shown holding a large fish and a rod in his distinctive hat. Daikokuten is the god of Darkness and also associated with luck and the household, especially the kitchen. He is usually shown holding his magic hammer which can tap out anything wished for. When not standing at shrines in central Tokyo he is usually seen sitting on two bales of rice, so full that mice gather around to catch what falls out of them.

It is not very common to see the Gods acted out like this at shrines and temples in Japan so I took the opportunity to catch these two fellows when they showed up. You can see other posts about Kanda Myojin and the festivals there here.