TYPE: God of Luck
ORIGIN: Shinto [Japan]
INFORMATION: One of seven gods of fortune in Shintoism and often linked with the god Ebisu. Originally a god of kitchens, he became a deity concerned with happiness. He is depicted as fat, well-to-do figure seated on two rice bales and carrying a sack on his back. He also holds a hammer in his right hand. In depictions there is often a mouse nibbling at one of the rice bales. Small gold icons of the god may be carried as talismans of wealth. According to tradition, when Daikoku's hammer is shaken money falls out in great profusion. In western Japan he is also syncretized wih the god of rice paddies, Ta-No-Kami, and thus becomes the god of agriculture and farmers. He may have developed from the Buddhist god Mahakala.