Ebisu and Daikoku

A wonderfully folky pair of Ebisu and Daikoku. The standing figure with the flat cap is Ebisu, the god of fishermen and commerce, and the seated figure, hunched under a large sack or rice bale, depicts Daikoku, the god of wealth and the harvest, who is typically shown with a treasure sack over his shoulder. The two are paired as household good-luck deities.The heavy black, sooty surface suggests they may have sat near a hearth or kitchen for a long time. Such figures were often kept as kamado-gami (hearth and kitchen protectors) in Japanese homes, and the accumulated soot patina is considered part of their charm and age.