ebisudou　夷堂

KEY WORD :　architecture / buildings & structures

A simple structure that was usually erected in the center of a market place to house the deity *Ebisu 恵比須, the first of the seven gods of good fortune *shichifukujin 七福神. He is dressed in kimono 着物, a divided skirt, hakama 袴, holds a fishing rod in his right hand, and a sea bream, a good luck symbol, under his left arm. Although Ebisu is mainly associated with fishing, farming and commerce , by extension he was revered as the guardian deity of the home and market place, especially between 1350-1450, when *nou 能 drama was reaching its full development. Two groups of wandering players, sarugaku 猿楽, and dengaku 田楽 performed in market places dedicating their presentations to the enshrined god Ebisu. Because a rough class of people patronized the market place, ebisdou were eventually relegated to the outskirts of a villages where, by the 17c and following, they fell into ruin.

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