Ebisu (恵比須, 恵比寿, 夷, 戎), also transliterated Yebisu (ゑびす – see historical kana orthography) or called Hiruko (蛭子) or Kotoshiro-nushi-no-kami (事代主神), is the Japanese god of fishermen, luck, and workingmen, as well as the guardian of the health of small children.
He is one of the Seven Gods of Fortune (七福神, Shichifukujin), and the only one of the seven to originate from Japan.
Ebisu was originally named Hiruko, meaning "leech child".
He was the first child of Izanagi and Izanami,
born without bones (or, in some stories, without arms and legs) due to
his mother's transgression during the marriage ritual. Hiruko struggled
to survive but, as he could not stand, he was cast to the sea in a boat
of reeds before his third birthday.[1] He eventually washed ashore—possibly in Ezo (蝦夷, ancient Hokkaidō)—and was cared for by the Ainu Ebisu Saburo (戎三郎).
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