The Tōka Ebisu faith (十日えびす信仰) spread to Kyōto from Imamiya-jinja (今宮神社) in Ōsaka in the mid-Edo period, but it was Kyōto's merchants that helped to popularize the festival nationwide.

So crowded is the festival that the shrine's bell ropes are often removed

Kyōto's Ebisu-jinja (ゑびす神社), known familiarly as 'Ebessan' (えべっさん), is 1 of Japan's 3 most popular Ebisu shrines.
The other 2 are Ōsaka’s Imamiya Ebisu-jinja (今宮戎神社) & Nishinomiya-jinja (西宮神社), head of the Ebisu sect.

Ebisu (恵比寿) is the god of business prosperity, successful crops, and abundance.

Gods that miss the gathering are known as 'rusu-gami' (留守神 'absent gods').

Perhaps the most famous rusu-gami is Ebisu (恵比寿), one of the only gods to skip the annual event. Because he remains at home, many communities hold festivities during this time at his shrines.

The fast growing grass is strong and hardy, qualities people wish to pass on to their own businesses. As the leaves aged and yellowed they were thought to look like old coins.

It was the shrine's 30th head that struck upon the idea of selling auspicious objects to adorn the bamboo.

Ebisu-jinja's 30th head priest was also the first to invite vendors to set up stalls, creating a carnival-like atmosphere that survives to this day.

Ebisu (恵比寿) is the god of business prosperity, successful crops, and abundance...and is quite possibly the most popular of the '7 Gods of Fortune' (七福神).

In the Muromachi period the idea of celebrating the '7 Gods of Fortune' began in Kyōto, and it is likely that the first Shichifukujin Mairi pilgrimage (都七福神まいり) originated at Ebisu-jinja (えびす神社).
From Kyōto similar pilgrimages spread across Japan.