Which kami visits households during the Japanese New Year?

Which kami visits households during the Japanese New Year? Toshigami is the kami traditionally believed to visit homes at New Year.

Toshigami is associated with the coming year, rice harvests, prosperity, and the well-being of the household. The name combines kami, meaning deity, with toshi, a term historically connected to the annual harvest as well as the year.

Families traditionally prepare to welcome Toshigami by cleaning their homes and putting up decorations such as kadomatsu and shimenawa. Kagami mochi, stacked rice cakes, may be placed as an offering, along with rice, sake, and salt. These customs are not simply festive decoration: they reflect the belief that the visiting kami brings blessings for the year ahead.

Toshigami is sometimes confused with the Seven Lucky Gods, such as Ebisu, or with Inari, the kami associated with rice and fox imagery. Those figures may appear in New Year observances, but Toshigami is the specific New Year visitor in this tradition.