Faint Presence?

My dear ladies, how are you all doing today? 🌹 Everyone, do you know the Seven Lucky Gods? ・Ebisu ・Benten (Benzaiten) ・Bishamon-ten ・Daikoku-ten ・Hotei-son ・Fukurokuju ・Jurojin These seven deities are the Seven Lucky Gods. While you might vaguely recognize Ebisu, Benten, and Bishamon-ten, many of you might not be familiar with Daikoku-ten, Hotei-son, Fukurokuju, and Jurojin, wouldn't you agree? Despite being called the Seven Lucky Gods, only Ebisu is a purely Japanese deity. Benten, Bishamon-ten, and Daikoku-ten have Buddhist origins, while Fukurokuju and Jurojin are gods from China. It's rather curious, isn't it, that Buddhist figures are also considered deities? Buddhism often carries a strong image of "demons" or "oni." Around the 6th century in Japan, Shinto and Buddhism merged (Shinbutsu-shūgō), leading to the conflation of kami and buddhas. Although they were officially separated during the Meiji era, the connection between Shinto and Buddhism remains inseparable, doesn't it? Incidentally, Daikoku-ten is often identified with Ōkuninushi-no-Mikoto, the god of nation-building.