On the following Japanese LINK there are many Engi-mono and auspicious items usually for the New Year, so I will introduce some them briefly here. Most will come up in their own stories.
http://homepage3.nifty.com/omura/materials/material5/material5.htm

	DARUMA Founder of Zen Buddhism in China. Fill in one eye and make a wish. Fill in the other eye when the wish has come true.

The Seven Gods of Good Luck (Shichifukujin) Ebisu and Daikoku Juroo-jin and Fukuroku-juu Bishamonten Hottei (with a big bag filled with goodies) Benzaiten (the Goddess playing Biwa) Usually shown in a ﾒBoat of Treasuresﾓ (takara-bune)	.

	Beckoning Cat (Maneki-neko) At the entrance of a shop or restaurant, she helps pulling customers in the store. The left hand up beckons for financial luck, The right hand up for a thousand customers - or vice versa, who knows?!

Tumbler Dolls (okiagari-koboshi) That is another version of our Daruma san. For the New Year, you get just one more than members of the family and pray for health and good luck. This is a doll and custom of Aizu Wakamatsu, Northern Japan.

	Badger (Tanuki) Usually made of Shigaraki Pottery. He brings luck with many parts of his own body and things he is carrying. Here is my story: http://www.amie.or.jp/daruma/Tanuki.html bout Tanuki posing as Daruma.

Golden Crucian Carp (金鮒) This wonderous fish called FUNA from Ibaragi prefecture helps cure smallpox too. Especially when you eat it.

	Kirin 麒麟 Legendary animal from China. Body like a deer, tail like an ox, hoofs like a horse, forehead like a wolf, with wings to take off to the clouds. Appears when a king was crowned in ancient China. Today a good beer!

God of Thunder (raijin) A deity taken over from ancient Indian religion. Protector of the harvest. Usually with his buddy, the God of the Winds (fuujin raijin).

	The Hare in the Moon (tsuki no usagi) He pounds the herb of immortality to make the elixir of long life. http://www.beal-net.com/laluna/hare.html

Mount Fuji (Fuji-san) If your first dream of the New Year shows you this mountain, you are lucky for the rest of the year.

	Mallet for Good Luck (fuku-tsuchi) Usually held by the Daikoku, one of the Seven Gods of Good Luck. You hammer your straw, make sandals of it, sell them and voila, you are a rich man.

New Year Ricecakes (kagami-mochi) Decorated and later eaten in a good soup. This is maybe the most common New Year decoration.