Deity of shinbutsu shūgō (kami–buddha syncretism)
Ebisu-jin
恵比寿神
Ebisu is familiar as a god of good fortune who supports everyday life, including fishing, sea transport, trade and farming. Nishinomiya Jinja identifies him as Hiruko no Ōkami, while another tradition links him with Kotoshironushi no Kami. Another characteristic is that "Ebisu" is not fixed to a single lineage.
This introduction is based on materials published by shrines, temples, and schools, starting with Shōhōin. It is summarized within the scope of the beliefs and traditions those materials convey, and does not present explanations or customs common to all schools, shrines, and temples.
English pages are the site’s own translations of its Japanese pages. The sources cited are in Japanese. 日本語で読む
A god of good fortune supporting the sea, trade and daily life
Ebisu is familiar as a god of good fortune who supports everyday life, including fishing, sea transport, trade and farming. Nishinomiya Jinja identifies him as Hiruko no Ōkami, while another tradition links him with Kotoshironushi no Kami. Another characteristic is that "Ebisu" is not fixed to a single lineage.
Source: 西宮神社・天台宗
The story of a divine image that came up from the sea
Nishinomiya Jinja's origin story tells that a fisherman enshrined at his home a divine image that came up from the sea, and, following an oracle received in a dream, moved it to the sacred ground of Nishinomiya. A story of good fortune coming from beyond the sea lies at the center of the local faith.
Source: 西宮神社
A faith that spread to fishing villages, farming villages and towns
It is explained that one background to the spread of the Ebisu faith is that the puppeteers (kugutsushi) of Nishinomiya and the people who distributed its talismans presented him, according to the area, as a god of the sea, a god of the rice fields, or a god of commerce. The figure with a fishing rod and a sea bream retains the connection with the blessings of the sea.
Source: 西宮神社・飛不動尊 正宝院
Prosperous business, large catches, and safe sea transport
Nishinomiya Jinja lists fishing, sea transport, trade, inviting good fortune and farming as the divine virtues of Ebisu. He is a god to whom people have brought wishes according to where they live and what they do: the blessings of the sea in fishing villages, harvests in farming villages, and trade in towns. The Ebisu Ōkami enshrined at that shrine is Hiruko no Ōkami, and this site introduces it separately in origin from the tradition that links him with Kotoshironushi no Kami.
Source: 西宮神社
Mantra (in Japanese, as written in the sources)
おん えびす そんてん そわか
Source: 真言宗 金毘羅密寺
なむ えびすたいじん
Source: 真言律宗 東妙寺（佐賀）
Shown as written in the Japanese sources. This site does not set how or how many times to recite it.
Related shrines and temples
Related kami and buddhas
Sources (in Japanese)
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：恵比寿神」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：目次」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 飛不動尊 正宝院「仏様の世界：七福神」（2026-10-14 確認）
- 西宮神社「西宮神社について」（2026-10-15 確認）
- 天台宗「法話集：七福神」（2026-10-15 確認）
- 真言宗 金毘羅密寺「霊場巡拝：北の都札幌 七福神めぐり」（2026-10-20 確認）
- 真言律宗 東妙寺（佐賀）「七福神」（2026-10-20 確認）