A small figurine of Osaki, depicting Ebisu, Japanese god of fishermen, good luck and merchants as well as guardian of small children’s health, riding a Tai, Japan's King of Fish. Ebisu is also one of the Seven Deities of Fortune and is one of the most revered deities in Japan for his connection with the sea, so much so that, together with Daikoku, he is present in almost all Japanese homes. Besides being a figurine, it is also a terracotta bell, to be shaken to invoke good wishes. It is handcrafted by Masahiro Takayanagi, the only craftsman who carries on the tradition of Osaki figurines, one of the symbols of Saga Prefecture, in whose area they have been produced since the 13th century, when the Mongol invaders who settled permanently in Japan were used to use the scraps of pottery to make whistles and figurines, as was the tradition in Mongolia. Being handmade, they are all slightly different and some imperfections are possible.
