Yaoyorozu no Kami-sama (Eight Million Deities）
I received an envelope from my friend in Kiryu, Japan.
To my surprise, two gods were enclosed.
They––Ebisu-sama and Daikokuten-sama––came to Chestertown all the way from Kiryu.
I’m sure they must have been very surprised to be here, too.
Kiryu is a fabric town with a deep history attached to it. For me, it is a sacred town of textiles.
Kiryu is located in a basin surrounded by mountains and enclosed by two streams, which make the town geographically rich. Human habitation there started as early as the Jomon period (about 14,000–1000 BC). Silk making began during the Nara period (710–794 AD), and it is said that silk banners from Kiryu were offered to the Tokugawa Clan at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, boosting its fame as a fabric town nationwide and attracting artisans. Silk worm farmers, weavers, and merchants got together, and the area grew and thrived. And throughout this development, Ebisu-sama seems to have given people strength.
Locals worship Ebisu-sama at Nishinomiya Shrine. Every year on November 19 and 20, the shrine hosts the Kiryu Ebisuko Festival, which attracts a number of visitors who receive omie-fuda (paper slips with gods’ images on them). Two of these omie-fuda came to my place. I enshrined the two gods, Ebisu-sama and Daikokuten-sama, on the south-facing wall of my studio, promised I would work hard, and prayed for recovery from the loss caused by the pandemic in 2020.
By the way, I wonder why Nishinomiya Shrine, which enshrines Ebisu-sama also carries Daikokuten-sama's omie-fuda. It’s a mystery. But even more mysterious are the Shichifukujin (the Seven Gods of Fortune), a group of seven deities including Ebisu-sama and Daikokuten-sama. Why do these deities, with no relationships or connections to each other, work together as a group?
The Shichifukujin started out with just two deities, Daikokuten-sama (a Hindu god from India) and Ebisu-sama (a Shinto god), during the Heian period (794–1185). Then Bishamonten-sama and Benzaiten-sama, both from India, joined the two. During the Muromachi period (1336–1573), Fukurokuju-sama, Hotei-sama, and Jurojin-sama from China followed, reaching the sacred number seven and completing the squad. Each deity has its role.
Daikokuten-sama: God of Wealth, Food, and Drink
Bishamonten-sama: God of Victory
Benzaiten-sama: Goddess of Wisdom
Fukurokuju-sama: God of Happiness, Victory, and Longevity
Jurojin-sama: God of Longevity and Harmony
Hotei-sama: God of Health and Fortune
Ebisu-sama: God of Prosperity, Harvest, and Guarding Fishermen
My Thoughts and the Conclusion of the Mysteries
Every day, people are living as a group connected by a strong fate beyond their will and wish. In order to coexist and thrive together, people keep deities in mind and maintain harmony.
By seeing these deities, people seem to remember and worship them better––to put it in a modern context, it “motivates people.”
Even if it’s not exact, as long as people can see the figure of each god, it seems okay.
The Shichifukujin––this gang of multiethnic, multicultural gods, each of whom has specific roles––appear in stories about people's real lives. They work both individually and as a group. Popular gods show up more often and take other fellow gods with them as guests. Based in shrines and temples, the Shichifukujin try various ways to reach people’s minds.
These things are possible because Japan is a country that has a strange balance based on the belief of shinbutsu shugo (the coexistence of Shintoism and Buddhism). The eight million deities of Shintoism (Yaoyorozu no Kami-sama) appear in various forms depending on people’s imagination, and they, joined by Hindu and Buddhist deities from India and China, have become familiar to and adored by Japanese people and, ultimately, embedded in their lives.
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A long-awaited new era in the United States has just begun.
We, coexisting here in this period due to some kind of fate, shall cherish things more, value time more, have appreciation of our surroundings, and create a better tomorrow! I firmly believe that my body and soul have turned to the light from the dark clouds.
Please continue to take care of yourself every day.
And I am looking forward to seeing you, from the bottom of my heart.
Yuh Okano
2021. Jan & Feb
