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🏮 Toka Ebisu Hon Ebisu Kaimon Shinji

十日戎-本戎・開門神事

Nishinomiya, Hyogo (Nishinomiya Shrine) · Every year on 10 January

118 days to go
Rooms around Nishinomiya, Hyogo fill up while the festival is on.

Nishinomiya Shrine in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, is the head shrine of roughly 3,500 Ebisu shrines across Japan. Toka Ebisu, held every year from January 9 to 11, is a regular festival for praying to Ebisu, the deity of prosperous business, and is known locally as "Nishinomiya no Ebessan." The festival's origin traces back to merchants in the Osaka area who formed Ebisu-ko associations and enshrined Ebisu to pray for prosperous business. January 10 is considered the day Ebisu goes out to work away from home, and this day is regarded as especially important as Hon-Ebisu, the main festival day. The highlight is the Kaimon Shinji Fukuotoko Erabi, held from the early hours of Hon-Ebisu. The first 1,200 people gather in front of the south gate, and a Fukuotoko is chosen as the one who has received good fortune from the deity. In most years the climax comes around 6:00 a.m. on January 10, and the shrine is crowded with many worshippers.