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1 One of the seven gods of good fortune *shichifukujin 七福神. Ebisu is regarded as the tutelary deity of all occupations, but especially of fishing, farming and commerce. The main attributes of Ebisu are his fishing rod, held in his right hand or over his right shoulder, and a freshly caught, large red snapper or sea bream (tai 鯛, a symbol of good fortune) under his left arm. He is a plump figure with a broadly grinning face, usually shown sitting on a rock. He may wear a kimono 着物 and divided skirt hakama 袴, or sashinuki 指貫, a type of Heian period hakama gathered in at the ankles, or sometimes kariginu 狩衣, the ancient hunting robes which became the ordinary apparel of Heian period courtiers. On his head, he wears a tall, pointed cap folded in the middle called kazaori eboshi 風折烏帽子. His happy expression and attributes of prosperity make him a popular god among merchants. Ebisu is frequently paired with the god *Daikokuten 大黒天, who is also one of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune. The two gods are often enshrined in the kitchen, especially in farming communities. Worship of Ebisu became very popular during the Edo period, when Ebisu dolls were mass-produced and sold throughout the countryside by traveling Ebisu puppeteers (ebisumawashi 恵比須回 or ebisukaki 夷舁) mainly from Nishinomiya 西宮 in Hyougo prefecture. Dolls or portraits were used by believers at festival rites ebisukou 夷子講, held on October 20th (or in January in some regions) to celebrate Ebisu and pray for prosperity.
Ebisu, a popular subject painted by various artists of the Edo period including Kanou Tan'yuu 狩野探幽 (1602-74) and Ogata Kourin 尾形光琳 (1659-1716), remains popular to this day. In *ootsu-e 大津絵, Ebisu and Daikokuten are sometimes caricatured as two figures engaged in a bout of sumou 相撲 wrestling.
The name Ebisu is derived from the term for foreigner or barbarian and thought to reflect the early worship of deities bringing desired skills from distant lands.
2 The god of commerce, represented in kyougen 狂言 plays by a masked figure *kyougenmen 狂言面. The ebisu mask has a generous, laughing expression; his eyes are narrowed, forehead gently furrowed, and mouth wide open in a broad smile. His moustache and eyebrows are painted in fine black lines. Ebisu appears in celebratory kyougen plays such as EBISU DAIKOKU 恵比須大黒 and EBISU BISHAMON 恵比須毘沙門. The ebisu mask was also frequently used to represent the god of happiness *fuku-no-kami 福の神, the main character in the play FUKU-NO-KAMI.
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