Tenjin

Tenjin is the God of Learning, one of the most widely worshipped deities in Japan with shrines all across the country, and he looks the part: an older man in formal court dress, wise and given to speaking in a slightly poetic register. He genuinely values diligence and hard work in the people who pray to him, and can be a real mentor figure when he chooses to be.

He also has a playful, occasionally vain streak — he enjoys teasing Yato about money, and can be distracted from serious duties by a bit of flattery about his appearance. That lightness has a hard edge behind it, though: unlike more forgiving gods, Tenjin exiles shinki without much hesitation the moment they harm him, and he generally refuses to take in strays at all unless circumstances leave him little choice. His popularity matters to him more than he lets on, down to minding exactly where he places in the gods' annual popularity poll.