Ebisu

Ebisu (, Ebisu) is one of the Seven Gods of Fortune. He is the humorless God of Fishing and Commerce. He first appears in the manga trying to buy Yukine (once he becomes a blessed regalia) off Yato's hands for an incredible amount of money.

Appearance
Contrasting with him being perhaps the most revered of the Seven Gods of Fortune, Ebisu's appearance is actually the most plain. His appearance is based on how a typical Japanese "salaryman" (サラリーマン, Sararīman), or corporate white-collar worker, would look. He almost always wears a black suit with a white undershirt, a grey vest and a blue tie, sometimes along with a black coat and white gloves - which are actually two of his shinki. He has short, neatly combed black hair and his eyes are coloured a striking green. His eyes usually look very opaque, with no visible pupils, and are his most distinctive facial feature.

After reincarnating, child Ebisu looks generally similar to how he used to be before, only with more liveliness in his eyes and slightly messier hair. Instead of wearing a full suit like the adult Ebisu, young Ebisu wears a sweater vest over a white short-sleeved dress shirt and black shorts, invoking the feel and looks of a private elite school pupil.

Personality
Initially, Ebisu appears stoical, always bearing a near-emotionless facial expression and speaking in a reserved, polite, yet aloof tone. He is also highly pragmatic and resourceful, constantly progressing towards his goals and willing to go to great lengths; such as putting his health at grave risk and descending to the underworld - to achieve what he is after.

Despite his aloof appearance and personality, he can actually be a silly person, making him appear rather comically serious at times. This was shown when, during his trip to the underworld while Yato protected him, he continued to look into the eyes of the many Ayakashi there. It causes them to attack them and forcing Yato to protect him frequently. Another occurrence was when he stated he couldn't even tie a shoelace and asked Yato if he could tie shoelaces. Yato comically replied he was better at bondage knots, but Ebisu didn't get the joke and said "As expected of a War God", to which Yato was exasperated that he didn't react. Also when he used the Word for the first time against Izanami's beldams, Ebisu was amazed at the brush almost forgetting that he was being chased. Even when reincarnated he has a comical side as shown when he tripped in the middle of the street and was nearly run over causing Yato to worry and help him up.

It's later revealed that the reason Ebisu agrees to put himself at risk and take such extreme measures is due to how, in every incarnation, he was always taught that, being a significant god, he could never truly "die" and would always be reborn. Aside from making Ebisu take his personal safety lightly, this also had a somewhat traumatizing influence on him, causing him to believe that himself as an individual is not important. And that he must focus only on the task that has been passed down to him by his own previous incarnations.

He is also a truly kind God. His desire to control and name Ayakashi, and go to the underworld to retrieve the location brush is motived by a belief of his. Mainly to relieve some of the strife and pain that all Ayakashi have caused and doing this would make the world a truly better place. This is shown when he is reincarnated and talks to Yato, saying when he realized he existed he took in the atmosphere and immediately fell in love with the world and wanted to bring the world and humans happiness, with Yato stating that was his true inner character and the type of person he has always been and will be. It is also stated by Kunimi that the master wanted to control Ayakashi to improve the world as he grew to understand that money alone cannot make humans happy.

Yato's words to Ebisu in Yomi caused a change in the latter's view of himself. It encouraged him to strive to survive and live as the being in his current, individual self is. Sadly, the Ebisu that had reached this realization was eliminated by Takemikazuchi, causing the birth of a new incarnation.

The personality of the current incarnation of Ebisu, that is still a child, fits his age, as well as the fact he was recently "born" with no memory of his past lives. He is very curious, and also jolly and friendly, yet is also well-mannered like his past adult form. Flashbacks of the previous Ebisu show that his current personality is just like the one the previous incarnation had as a child, up until he began his instruction under his lead Shinki Iwami, meant to prepare him to continue what the past incarnations had started. He is also shown to be easily influenced by those around him, as shown when he continually calls Bishamonten Pervy-san (or psycho bitch depending on the translation) because Yato told him that was her real name. He seems to be particularly attached to Yato, often running to him when they meet. He tends not to understand jokes and takes them literally like the previous incarnation that met Yato.

Being a god of commerce, Ebisu has several traits that recur in all of his incarnations instinctively. Such as his mind for business and the importance money has in his eyes. He also holds the state of the Japanese economy in very high regard by nature. He dreams of economic success for the country even as a child, as well as becoming furious when Kofuku triggers the sharp decline of the early 90's bubble economy. Also present in all of Ebisu's incarnations is his incredible clumsiness, which is so severe that he can't even tie his shoelaces without any help from his Shinki. Despite being so terribly clumsy, Ebisu has a surprising talent for fishing, which is probably related to how he is also a god of fishing.

One last trait of Ebisu's that is unique, if not unheard of, among gods, is his sympathy towards strays. This feeling, as he has stated, stems from how he himself was rejected by the first person to give him a name - his mother Izanami.

Adaptation Notes

 * In the manga, Ebisu dies shortly after he exits the Underworld, and he is held by Bishamonten. In the anime, he instead loses consciousness at this point. He dies after both Yato and Bishamon are retrieved from the Underworld, and he is held by Yato.
 * As a result, the anime also alters the scene in the manga where Yato first finds out that Ebisu died and reincarnated.
 * Amaterasu does not make an appearance in the anime, so it is instead Ebisu who informs the others of the Soul Call.
 * In the manga, Ebisu is executed by a shinki which explodes. In the anime, he is executed using the Pacification Ring.

Trivia

 * The Noragami "universe" accepts the most popular origin story of Ebisu's as the true one. This gives possible explanations to some of the facts given about him:
 * Ebisu is said to have been discarded by Izanami because he was born without bones. His clumsiness may be an interpretation of how he overcame this disability by growing limbs/bones, though not completely.
 * The previous Ebisu refers to Izanami as "the mother who abandoned me" and the current Ebisu is upset to learn of this. This may the origin of his acceptance and ownership of strays.
 * He seems to like western food, as one of his favorite restaurants to eat at is called the Olive Tavern. He normally orders the hamburger steak, and the owner there seems acquainted with Ebisu as she was able to see that the newly reincarnated Ebisu was related to the previous one, though she assumes they are father and son.
 * He was voted most popular God.
 * Possibly because he is a God of Fortune, he seems to have strong good luck. For example, when he falls in the street in front of a speeding truck, he lands safely between the wheels so that he isn't run over. Ebisu himself says he has confidence in his luck, and Takemikazuchi says he is good at gambling.
 * He seems to have a tendency to get lost.
 * Strangely enough his nickname is Baldy by Okukinishi, despite the fact that Ebisu isn't bald at all. However, when it is revealed Kofuku caused the decline of Japan's bubble era, Ebisu is so disgusted with her and stressed over Japan's declining GDP that he starts to bald. This could be where Ebisu gets his nickname Baldy from.
 * He's very soft.