Seven Lucky Gods

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Japanese Mythology & Folklore

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Kami | Seven Lucky Gods | List of divinities

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Mt. Hiei | Mt. Fuji | Izumo | Ryūgū-jō | Takamagahara | Yomi | Jigoku

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Three Sacred Treasures

Shinto & Buddhism
Bon Festival | Setsubun | Ema | Torii
Shinto shrines | Buddhist temples

Folklorists
Kunio Yanagita, Keigo Seki, Lafcadio Hearn, Shigeru Mizuki, Inoue Enryo

The Seven Gods of Fortune (七福神 Shichi Fukujin?), commonly referred to in English as the Seven Lucky Gods, refer to the seven gods of good fortune in the Shintō religion, Japanese mythology, and folklore. They are often the subject of netsuke carvings and other representations.

Each has a traditional attribute:

  1. Ebisu, god of fishers or merchants, often depicted carrying a cod or sea bass.
  2. Daikokuten (Daikoku), god of wealth, commerce and trade. Ebisu and Daikoku are often paired and represented as carvings or masks on the walls of small retail shops.
  3. Bishamonten, god of warriors.
  4. Benzaiten (Benten-sama), goddess of knowledge, art and beauty.
  5. Fukurokuju, god of happiness, wealth and longevity.
  6. Hotei, the fat and happy god of abundance and good health.
  7. Jurōjin (Gama), god of longevity.
From left to right: Hotei, Jurōjin, Fukurokuju, Bishamonten, Benzaiten, Daikokuten, Ebisu.
From left to right: Hotei, Jurōjin, Fukurokuju, Bishamonten, Benzaiten, Daikokuten, Ebisu.

Many Japanese "gods" were transmitted from India to China, and from China to Japan, including the seven (shichi) gods listed above. Another god, Kichijōten, goddess of happiness, is sometimes found depicted along with the seven traditional gods, replacing Jurōjin. The reasoning being that Jurōjin and Fukurokuju are originally manifestation of the same Taoist deity, the Southern Star. However, as is often the case in folklore, Japanese Gods sometimes represent different things in different places.

The seven gods are often depicted on their ship the Takarabune (宝船）or "Treasure Ship." The tradition holds that the seven gods will arrive in town on the New Year and distribute fantastic gifts to worthy people. Children often receive red envelopes emblazoned with the Takarabune which contain gifts of money around the New Year. The Takarabune and its passengers are often depicted in art in varied locations from the walls of museums to cuddly caricatures.

[edit] References in Popular Culture

  • Happy Seven is an anime about a school club consisting of seven girls, having each one a different power of the Seven Gods of Fortune.
  • The Seven Gods of Fortune appear in the video game Pocky & Rocky 2 for the Super Nintendo.
  • The main group of villains in the Ranma 1/2 movie Big Trouble in Nekonron, China call themselves the Seven Lucky Gods Martial Artists and are based on them, but with different names.
  • A song with the name 七福神 with a background movie parodying the Seven Gods of Fortune is available in Drummania V3 [1]
  • A character in Dan Brown's Deception Point prays to the "seven deities of good luck" at one point, but uses the term shichigosan, which actually refers to the festivals for children of the special ages of seven, five, and three.

[edit] External references

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