Advertorial

The Wonderful and Powerful Gods of Noragami

On the outside, Yato appears as if he's a carefree teenage boy, known for wearing a jersey and fluffy scarf around his neck. Despite his playful exterior and aloof demeanor, Yato is a powerful and ancient Stray God. Now a self proclaimed Delivery God. He finds himself without a shrine and a Shinki, which is a loose spirit of a dead human, and can often be summoned into a sacred weapon. He dreams of becoming a well known god with a popular shrine, but is currently regulated to helping people for 5 yen coins. Yato has taken it upon himself to aid anyone who asks, no task too small or large. The question is whether he will be able to help Hiyori, and will he be able to escape his past and establish himself as a new god?

Wise and poetic, Tenjin is not without humor. Although he is The God of Learning, assisting individuals who pray for divine intervention in higher learning, Tenjin still finds time to play jokes on Yato and take in attention from the ladies. The Shinto God of Scholars was originally a man by the name of Sugawara no Michizane, who was a politician, scholar and a poet. Directly after his death in exile, the capitol was severely damaged by storms, leading the emperor to have Michizane worshipped as the God, Tenjin. Today, many students and parents pray to the him, especially before entrance exams, and make offerings at shrines for their achievements.

The God of Poverty Kofuku, looks like your typical cute teenage girl. Whimsical and sweet, her greed for money is in sharp contrast to Yato, charging 5 million yen for her services, a stark contrast to Yato's measly 5 yen request. She has the unfortunate ability to bring luck to those around her, causing accidents and making people lose their jobs. Due to this, she calls herself Kofuku Ebisu, tricking people to think she is actually The God of Good Luck. Ebisu is one of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune in Japan, long being worshiped by fishermen to return with bountiful harvests and safe travels.

Beautiful and fearsome, Bishamon is a powerful God whose stunning looks are only surpassed by her desire for vengeance against Yato. The God of War commands many Shinki, however not through brute force, but by caring intensely for them. They manifest themselves as weapons of war, making her second to none on the battlefield. She is also known as Vaisravana, one of the Four Heavenly Kings in Buddhism. In Japan however, Bishamon is depicted quite differently as a guardian of Buddha's teachings and a punisher of evildoers.