A folk ritual of gratitude passed down in Kurobe, welcoming Ebisu-sama into the home
The Ebisu Welcoming Ritual
Festival information
EVENT INFORMATION- Location
- Ogyu and Wakaguri districts, Kurobe City
- Area
- Toyama Prefecture・Kurobe City(From Tokyo: approx. 2 h 10 min–2 h 40 min · bullet train)Prefecture-level estimate to a main station or airport, not the venue. Airport access, check-in and onward travel are extra; remote areas and islands can take much longer.
- Features
- Highlights and activities
- Wishes behind the festival
- Last updated
- 2026/11/13
In the Ogyu and Wakaguri districts of Kurobe City, the Ebisu Welcoming Ritual has been passed down through generations. Ebisu-sama is welcomed into the home and thanked for good harvests and earnings. This folk ritual brings together household life and faith, with offerings including a meal laden with the bounty of the sea and mountains and a forked daikon radish.
About The Ebisu Welcoming Ritual
The Ebisu Welcoming Ritual is a city-designated intangible folk cultural property passed down in the Ogyu and Wakaguri districts of Kurobe City.
Ebisu-sama is said to return carrying money earned on his travels. Each household’s head welcomes him, invites him to rest by the hearth, and prepares a bath and a meal.
The ritual brings together household beliefs and everyday life: people offer thanks for a good harvest and earnings, and serve a meal laden with the bounty of the sea and mountains.
Festival highlights
A highlight is the meal prepared for one deity to welcome Ebisu-sama.
Offerings of the bounty of the sea and mountains include sacred sake, a sea bream, azuki bean rice, fish miso soup, ohira, fruit, and namasu. A forked daikon radish, known as “Ebisu daikon,” is an indispensable sacred offering.
The forked daikon radish is regarded as a yorishiro, a vessel through which a deity may draw near. After the meal is offered, the tray is cleared, and the head of the household eats the food—this, too, is part of the ritual.
A folk ritual of gratitude passed down in Kurobe, welcoming Ebisu-sama into the home
What to expect
During the ritual, each household opens its large front door, and the head of the household welcomes Ebisu-sama.
After resting by the hearth, Ebisu-sama takes a bath. At mealtime, the head of the household gives thanks for the year’s good harvest and earnings.
Records describe the welcoming customs taking place in the evening of the 20th day of the 11th month, as well as the same customs being performed early in the morning of the 20th day of the 1st month, when the deity is sent off.
Location and access
- Venue and address
Ogyu and Wakaguri districts, Kurobe City
- Train and bus
Toyama Chihō Railway: Get off at Nagaya, Ogyu, Shitayama, or Wakaguri Station.
Address Ogyu and Wakaguri districts, Kurobe City
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Nearby attractions
黒部川電気記念館
富山県黒部市にある博物館
写真：江戸村のとくぞう (Edomura no Tokuzo) / CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo source ·
黒部市吉田科学館
富山県の博物館・美術館のスポットです。
Origins and History of The Ebisu Welcoming Ritual
Ebisu-sama is a deity believed to bring abundant harvests and prosperity, and it was thought that he traveled back and forth between the home and the place where the family member worked away from home.
There is also a theory that he was originally a household ancestral deity. The ritual is described as a folk tradition similar to Aenokoto in the Okunoto region and related to the Imperial Household’s Niiname-sai harvest festival.
On July 19, Showa 35, the ritual in Kurobe City’s Ogyu and Wakaguri districts was designated a city intangible folk cultural property.
Official information
Kurobe City “City-Designated Cultural Property [Folk Cultural Property]”
The Ebisu Welcoming Ritual at a Glance
The Ebisu Welcoming Ritual is an intangible folk cultural property passed down in the Ogyu and Wakaguri districts of Kurobe City.
Ebisu-sama is welcomed into the home, invited to rest by the hearth, and offered the bounty of the sea and mountains along with a forked daikon radish. People give thanks for good harvests and earnings.
The customs for welcoming and entertaining a deity in the midst of everyday household life carry on local beliefs and prayers for abundant harvests and prosperity.
Sources and references
Japanese Festivals.jp Editorial Team
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Article updated: 2026/11/13
