Shichifukujin 七福神

Seven Lucky Gods

Although the Seven Gods of Fortune are nowadays considered kami, i.e. Shintô gods, there were probably no clear demarcations between the Buddhas and the kami at the time of their emergence in the Muromachi period (approx. 1336-1573). The paths to the mythical origins of the seven popularly worshipped gods of fortune shichi-fukujin in Japan are extremely convoluted and therefore not easy to fathom. The group of predominantly friendly figures is composed of Shintô, Buddhist, Taoist and Brahmanist deities from Japan, China and India, as well as supernatural beings.