Of course all cultures all have ways of indicating honorable protagonists, and just by themselves, these just establish Hiyori and Bishamon as good people worth emulating.
But it's one of those things that, after it's pointed out to you (as Buruma's hard-to-find but 1000% *completely* worthwhile book does, showing how the pattern is older than Edo kabuki), it's hard to unsee. He also has awesome chapters on father figures (oyabun/daimyo/emperors), and much more.