2 Vintage Japanese Wooden Laquer Serving Trays (Obon) with 2 of the 7 Lucky Gods

2 Vintage Japanese Wooden Laquer Serving Trays (Obon) with 2 of the 7 Lucky Gods.

These vintage wooden trays (or Obons) were/are typically used for serving drinks of snacks to guests on ones home.

The carved images are of two of the seven lucky God's or 'Shichifukujin'.

One is EBISU - God of prosperous business and wealth. Originally the God of Sea and Fishing, he is depicted with his catch.

The other is DAIKOKUTEN - God of Happiness Virtue.

From the Ex Collection of Rev. John Gage Waller. The items in the collection where mostly brought in Japan during the 1890s. Brief History on Rev. J. G. Waller. Reverend John Gage Waller was an influential figure in the history of Christian missionary in Japan during the 19th century. He was born in southern Ontario Canada in 1863 and later ordained as a priest in the Anglican Church of Canada. In 1890, Waller arrived in Japan as a missionary with his wife, Lydia Susan, of the Anglican Church of Canada first working in Tokyo and later in Fukushima Prefecture. In 1892, Waller arrived in Nagano where he established churches in Nagano City in 1898 (Nagano Holy Saviour Church), Mt. Inari (Chikuma) in 1931, Ueda, Iiyama, and in Takada (Jōetsu, Niigata).