Ebisu was first named "Hiruko", meaning "leech child". He was the first child of Izanagi and Izanami, born without bones (or, in some stories, without arms and legs) because of his mother's mistake in her marriage. Hiruko tried hard to survive but he was thrown to the sea in a boat made out of reeds. He was eventually washed ashore and was cared for by the Ainu people "Ebisu Saburo" (戎三郎).