Daikokuten
Japanese · deity · mythic · deity
An Indian destroyer god who became a Japanese god of the kitchen and the till. Mahākāla in his home tradition is terrifying; by the Edo period Daikoku is a fat smiling figure standing on two rice bales with a mallet that produces money when struck, and he is conflated with Ōkuninushi on the strength of a pun — the characters of his name can be read Ōkuni. The registry held Ōkuninushi and not the deity Japanese practice merged him with.
Domains
- commerce
- wealth
Relations
- companion: Bishamonten
Sources
- Reference treatments of Daikokuten and of the Shichifukujin.