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So here we have images of the gods and saints for toys Tenjin, the Deity of Beautiful Writing and Uzume, the laughter-loving -and Fukusuke, like a happy schoolboy and the Seven Divinities of Good Luck, in a group and Fukurojin, the God of Longevity, with head so elongated that only by the aid of a ladder can his barber shave the top of it and Hotei, with a belly round and huge as a balloon and Ebisu, the Deity of Markets and of fishermen, with a tai-fish under his arm and Daruma, ancient disciple of Buddha, whose legs were worn off by uninterrupted meditation.
Which means: 'Of the five pines of Seki one has been cut, and four remain; and of these no one must now be cut they are wedded pairs. And in Mionoseki there are sold beautiful little sake cups and sake bottles, upon which are pictures of the four pines, and above the pictures, in spidery text of gold, the verses, 'Seki no gohon matsu. These are for keepsakes, and there are many other curious and pretty souvenirs to buy in those pretty shops; porcelains bearing the picture of the Mionoseki temple, and metal clasps for tobacco pouches representing Koto-shiro- nushi-no-Kami trying to put a big tai-fish into a basket too small for it, and funny masks of glazed earthenware representing the laughing face of the god.
These deities are usually pictured together: Daikoku seated upon bales of rice, holding the Red Sun against his breast with one hand, and in the other grasping the magical mallet of which a single stroke gives wealth; and Ebisu bearing a fishing-rod, and holding under his arm a great tai-fish.
Originally the Fox was sacred to Inari only as the Tortoise is still sacred to Kompira; the Deer to the Great Deity of Kasuga; the Rat to Daikoku; the Tai-fish to Ebisu; the White Serpent to Benten; or the Centipede to Bishamon, God of Battles. But in the course of centuries the Fox usurped divinity. And the stone images of him are not the only outward evidences of his cult.
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