Daikoku Tattoo Meaning
Fortune, wealth, the harvest, and the laughing god who stands on the rice bales.
Daikoku is the laughing god of fortune and the kitchen — one of Japan's Seven Lucky Gods, the round, smiling figure who stands on rice bales with a treasure sack over his shoulder and a wish-granting mallet in his hand, the bringer of wealth, harvest, and the household's nourishment. To carry Daikoku is to carry fortune, wealth, the harvest, and the laughing god who stands on the rice bales — the cheerful bringer of abundance, the god of the kitchen and the family's food, the destroyer-turned-giver who grants wishes with the swing of his mallet.
Daikoku (大黒天, 'Great Black Heaven') is one of the Shichifukujin — the Seven Lucky Gods of Japanese tradition, the beloved bringers of good fortune. Daikoku is the god of wealth, commerce, trade, and the kitchen, and his cheerful image is instantly recognizable: he is depicted as a round, smiling, jovial figure wearing a wide-brimmed hat, standing atop two bales of rice — the rice bales representing agricultural abundance and the harvest, the foundation of wealth and sustenance.
Daikoku's attributes all speak of abundance freely given. Over his shoulder he carries a large sack bulging with treasure, and in his hand he holds a magic mallet — the uchide no kozuchi, the 'lucky mallet' — which grants wishes and produces wealth when waved or struck. The laughing god, perched on the rice bales with his treasure-sack and his wish-granting mallet, is the very picture of generous good fortune: abundance, prosperity, and happiness, offered with a smile. He is one of the most popular and well-loved of the lucky gods, invoked for wealth, success in business, and a bountiful harvest. Daikoku is the cheerful face of fortune — the round, laughing god who stands on the rice of the harvest and showers blessing from his sack and his mallet. The Japanese Daikoku is the laughing lucky god of wealth — standing on rice bales with his treasure sack and wish-granting mallet. The Japanese Daikoku is the god on the rice bales — Daikoku (大黒天, 'Great Black Heaven'), one of the Shichifukujin (Seven Lucky Gods), the god of wealth, commerce, trade, and the kitchen; depicted as a round, laughing figure in a wide-brimmed hat standing on two rice bales (agricultural abundance), carrying a large sack of treasure over his shoulder and a magic mallet (uchide no kozuchi) that grants wishes when waved — the cheerful face of fortune, abundance and prosperity offered with a smile, invoked for wealth, business success, and a bountiful harvest.
The Seven Lucky Gods (Shichifukujin, 七福神) are: Ebisu (fishing and commerce), Daikoku (wealth and kitchen), Bishamonten (warriors), Benzaiten (knowledge and arts), Fukurokuju (wisdom and longevity), Jurōjin (longevity), and Hotei (contentment); the group as a collective was formalized in the Muromachi period (1336–1573 CE) though individual figures are older. The Shichifukujin are depicted sailing together in the Takarabune (treasure ship) — images of the treasure ship placed under one's pillow on New Year's Eve are said to produce good dreams. The transformation of Mahakala from destroyer to prosperity god is one of the most dramatic character reversals in Buddhist deity transmission — in Tibet and Nepal, Mahakala remains a fierce protector deity depicted in wrathful form; in Japan, the same deity became the smiling kitchen god. Daikoku's magic mallet (uchide no kozuchi) — waved to grant wishes — appears in the Japanese fairy tale 'Issun-bōshi' (One-Inch Boy), who uses Daikoku's mallet to grow to full size after defeating an oni; the mallet is one of the most recognized magical objects in Japanese folklore. Rats are sacred to Daikoku — they are said to live in his treasure sack; because rats protect grain stores from mice and insects, they are associated with agricultural abundance.
Daikoku across cultures
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