Daikoku, God of Wealth
JAPAN, National coinage. Bunsei Era. 1818-1830. AR Mameita-gin (12mm, 8.32 g, 12h). Edo (Tokyo) mint. Struck 1820-1837. Daikoku, God of Wealth, standing facing, holding
uchide no kozuchi (golden mallet) and sack of rice;
bun in Hanji on chest / Daikoku, God of Wealth, standing facing, holding
uchide no kozuchi (golden mallet) and sack of rice;
bun in Hanji on chest. Hartill,
Japanese 9.47; BMC Japan 1162-4; JNDA 09-67. Good VF, toned. Exceptionally well struck on a heavy flan.
Daikoku, the Japanese god of wealth and one of the popular ‘Seven Lucky Gods,’ is a syncretic deity evolved from the combination of the Hindu god Shiva and Ōkuninushi, a Shinto deity. Tradition holds that one can assure oneself of good fortune by successfully stealing a statue of Daikoku without being caught, a custom known as fuku-nusubi, “theft of fortune.”
