Concept
Landlord deities (地主神) are a type of tutelary deity worshipped in the East Asian cultural sphere. Di (Chinese concept) is the first character. They are low level deities that are considered below Sheshen and City Gods. When people move into a new location they will ask the landlord deity for permission to move there. Houtu is the overlord of all the Tudigongs ("Lord of Local Land"), Sheji ("the State"), Shan Shen ("God of Mountains"), City Gods ("God of Local City"), and landlord gods world wide. In China Dizhushen (地主神) are considered deities below Sheshen and City Gods The Landlord God () is a deity worshipped in Chinese folk beliefs who is analogous but is not to be confused with Tudigong. The tablet for the Landlord God is typically inscribed with two rows: On the left: (in Singapore and Malaysia) "The Landlord Wealth God of the Overseas Tang People" (唐番地主財神) or (in Hong Kong and Chinese diaspora elsewhere) "The Landlord Wealth God from Front to Back" (前後地主財神) On the right: The Dragon God of the Five Directions and Five Lands (五方五土龍神; fengshui). The names are accompanied by a side couplet of various wordings that praise the virtues of the Landlord God. It is believed that the Landlord God has powers to help gather wealth, and the position of the tablet must be placed properly according to the laws of fengshui. In Chinese Spirit houses are called 土地神屋 or Tudigong House, representing a link between the concept and the concept of an Earth Temple dedicated to a landlord deity or a Tudigong Worship of Dijizhu (地基主) is especially common in Taiwanese folk beliefs. Many institutions such as government agencies and companies will honor a Dijizhu when moving into a new building. Household altars to Dijizhu are very common Such deities are ambiguous in their nature sometimes ghosts and sometimes deities.