Lobster / shrimp

海老 ebi

Its bent back and long whiskers resemble an old man, so ebi is written "sea elder" and wishes for a long life into bent-backed old age; a New Year decoration.

Edo period New Year and celebratory custom

The spiny lobster (ise-ebi) has a bent back and long feelers like an old man with a beard, so it became a sign of long life, sometimes called the 'old man of the sea'. It was used on 18th-century kyōgen costumes and on late-Edo gift covers (fukusa), and Ise, the source of its name, was a major New Year pilgrimage destination.

Lobster appears in New Year osechi food and decorations and on gift wrapping for celebrations.