New Year is a very important time for Japanese people. 初詣 (hatsumōde), or the first shrine visit of the New Year to offer prayers, is probably their most well-known custom. During this visit, people also get their おみくじ (omikuji – fortune) for the New Year. Buying 福袋 (fukubukuro – lucky bag) is another practice you’ll probably be familiar with since it’s practically everywhere at this time of year. As you can see, luck and fortune are a recurring theme in Japanese New Year traditions. One that’s probably not yet as popular with non-Japanese residents is the Seven Lucky Gods Pilgrimage (七福神めぐり – shichifukujin meguri), but Tokyo has plenty of routes to try.
Originally from Hindu, Buddhist, and Chinese religions, the Seven Lucky Gods are said to bring good fortune to certain domains of a person’s life. There are technically eight gods in all – not counting the fact that certain gods can appear as either male or female.
Fukurokuju and Jurōjin are sometimes counted as one deity. When this happens, Kisshōten fills in the seventh spot.
Here’s a quick rundown of what each of the Seven Lucky Gods grant:
- Ebisu
- Have a bountiful harvest and a big catch, business prosperity, improvement in the performing arts
- Fukurokuju
- To find a good partner, have a happy home, good health, long life, business prosperity, ward off disaster
- Benzaiten
- Have good fortune, success in academics and arts, bountiful harvest
- Bishamonten
- To make your wish come true, protection from disease and disaster, ward off evil spirits
- Hotei-Oshō
- Have good luck with money, prosperity, have a happy marriage, guide to better fortune
- Jurōjin
- Good health and safety, happiness and longevity
- Daikokuten
- Have a bountiful harvest, business prosperity, prosperity of descendants
- Kisshōten
- To attract good luck, have good relationships
Route Information
The goal of the pilgrimage is to complete a tour to one of each of the Seven Lucky Gods’ shrines located around the city, or town. There used to be a prescribed order for the pilgrimage. These days, however, the important thing is simply to successfully visit all Seven Lucky Gods within the first few days of the New Year, in whatever way is most convenient for you.
While visiting each shrine, head on over to the 賽銭箱 (saisenbako – offertory box), give a small offering and say your prayer. When making your offering, ¥5 is the best to use. In Japanese, ¥5 (go en) sounds the same as 御縁 (goen) – from the phrase 御縁がある which means ‘the start of a good connection’. This is believed to establish a good foundation when offering your prayers.
For the uninitiated, I highly recommend following the easy route around Zoshigaya in Toshima-ku made by Zoshigaya Future Heritage. You can pick up leaflets at shops in the area around the New Year.
Alternately, you could also consider this other easy course around Nihonbashi in Chuo-ku.
With both of these courses, you can visit all Seven Lucky Gods within 90 minutes at a leisurely pace, whereas most routes around Tokyo will take two hours, at least.
So, what are you waiting for? It’s a new day, and a New Year (or at least it will be soon), and everyone can use a bit of good luck every now and then, right?
How will you be celebrating the New Year? Check out our other articles on New Year’s Eve activities for more ways to end the year right.
Photo by Benjamin Moore on Flickr.
