Ebisu Shrine

Japanese: 戎神社 - えびすじんじゃ

...Like Bunraku, it is performed by three gidayu puppeteers, but the puppets are a size larger and are of the same lineage as the Awa puppets of Tokushima Prefecture. There are various theories about the origins of Awaji puppets, but it seems to have originated from Nishinomiya Ebisu Shrine in Settsu, across Osaka Bay. Ebisu Shrine is a shrine dedicated to Ebisu, the god of the sea, and a group descended from the puppeteers who used to drift around the water in ancient times would dance puppets representing Ebisu and pray for people's health and good fortune....

From Ebisu

...As one of the Seven Gods of Fortune, he is said to bestow good fortune and is often worshipped in the kitchen or living room of a home. In the spring and autumn Ebisu ko, he has a strong character as a god of commerce, as people offer him money in their wallets, but in rural areas, he has been syncretized with the belief in the hearth god and the god of the wilderness, and he also has the character of a god of the fields who brings good rice harvests. In some regions, rice seedlings and ears of rice are offered at the Sanaburi and Kariage festivals after rice planting. In fishing villages, he is seen as a god who brings good catches, and he is often worshipped in shrines set up on coasts and capes. ...

From 【Puppet】

…During the 13th century (Kamakura period), the puppet groups seem to have dispersed and settled according to their various functions, and the word kugutsu no longer referred to a group of people after the 14th century. In the 15th century, the “Tekugutsu” appeared, and in the 16th century, they combined with Ebisu Shrine in Nishinomiya, Settsu, to form a professional organization and formed a theater troupe called “Ebisukaki.” There were also “Hotokemawashi” that combined with Buddhist temples.…

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Ebisu Shrine" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…文楽と同じく義太夫による三人遣いだが，人形がひと回り大きく，徳島県の阿波人形と同系である。淡路人形の起源については諸説があるが，大阪湾を隔てた摂津の西宮戎（えびす）神社を基盤に生まれたもののようである。戎神社は海神えびす神をまつる社で，古く水辺を漂泊していた傀儡（くぐつ）の流れをくむ集団が，そのえびす神を表現した人形を舞わして，人々の息災福運を祈った。…

【えびす(夷∥恵比須)】より

…七福神の一神として，福徳を授ける神とされ，家の台所や茶の間にまつられることが多い。春秋の夷（えびす）講には，財布にお金を入れて供えるなど商業神としての性格が強いが，農村では，竈（かまど）神や荒神（こうじん）信仰と習合して，稲の豊作をもたらす田の神の性格をも兼ねる。田植後のサナブリ，刈上祭に稲苗や稲の穂を供える地方もある。漁村では豊漁をもたらす神とされ，海岸や岬などに祠（ほこら）を設けてまつることが多い。…

【傀儡】より

…13世紀(鎌倉時代)の間に傀儡集団は各種の職能別に分散して定住したようで，14世紀以後はくぐつという語が集団民を指すことはなくなった。15世紀には〈てくぐつ〉が輩出し，それが16世紀には摂津西宮の戎神社と結合して職能組織をもち，〈えびすかき〉と称して劇団を組んだ。ほかに仏寺と結合した〈ほとけまわし〉などもあった。…

※「戎神社」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について | 情報

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