Local pilgrimage circuits can be found throughout Japan dedicated to the seven gods of fortune (fukujin). The pilgrimage circuit in Hitachi Province (present-day Ibaraki Prefecture) connected eight temples and shrines throughout the region of Suigo and Tsukuba National Park, and was known as having the longest circuit of any of the fukujin pilgrimages in Japan.
 


Deity enshrined : Okuninushi no Kami

Deity enshrined : Divine Virtues : Wealth and good fortune


Daikoku is known popularly as one of the "seven gods of fortune" (shichi fukujin). Originally a deity of the kitchen and foodstuffs, Daikoku was transmitted to Japan with Buddhism, and thereafter was linked with the native deity Okuninushi no Kami as a deity of wealth and fortune. Okuninushi no Kami is also the main deity worshiped at the shrine Izumo Taisha in Shimane Prefecture, and another name for the deity Omononushi no Kami, worshipped at Japan's oldest shrine, the Omiwa Jinja in Nara. The Daikokuten enshrined here has become widely known as one of the "seven gods of fortune in Hitachi Province" (the pre-modern name for Ibaraki Prefecture).
While Daikoku is ordinarily portrayed today sitting atop bales of rice, that image has been prevalent only since the Genroku era (1688-1704). The Daikoku enshrined here is in his original form, dressed in light hunting dress and a headwrap, with a bag slung over his left shoulder and holding a "mallet of fortune" in his right hand.