Lucky God For Your House

I went on a detour from my usual route and explored a different neighborhood the other day. It was just a residential area with narrow roads and older homes, but I noticed something unique about the houses there.

I spotted several of the homes with ceramic tile topped with a figure. Once I noticed one, there seemed to be one on every house.

I had never seen these before, in my ten years in Japan. I guessed they were gods to protect the house.

I found out they are called fukugami or luck gods, so my guess was close. There were a couple versions and they all matched the roof tiles.

Have you noticed these guys in your area too?