Ebisu and Benten walking in the snow, Utagawa Toyohiro, artist, 1810-1820, Tokyo, woodcut, This Japanese woodblock print is a good example of surimono, limited-edition, privately commissioned prints which are finely crafted, smaller than an Åban, they often combine verse and image in complementary arrangements. The composition of Ebisu and Benten or Benzaiten by Utagawa Toyohiro (1773–1828) was published to celebrate the advent of the new year. Both figures were counted among the fukujin, the Seven Gods of Good Fortune, and their appearance together was especially auspicious. Images of Ebisu and Benten were associated with the popular New Year tradition of making a pilgrimage to the seven shrines devoted to each of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune.
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