Antique Japanese Carved Daikoku - 06

A lovely stylised antique Daikoku figure. 

I acquired this and a number of other gods and Daikoku figures from a dealer in Tokyo who specialises in rare and unique folk sculpture, in his words Japan's Daikoku expert! We spent a wonderful afternoon talking about antiques and discussing the many nuances of the different sculptures, how to tell the age of the sculptures based on certain design features.

Here is Watanabe San's description of this Daikoku Sculpture:

"Daikokuten (19th–20th Century) Since we've introduced so many of these pieces, you may already be quite familiar with Daikoku! Because he is the most intimate and beloved god in Japan, nearly every household once enshrined a statue of Daikoku.
Historically, in Japan, people believed that a deity resided in every single pebble and every single leaf—a concept known as yaoyorozu (eight million gods).

 
However, as the economy developed and people's lives became richer, the culture of enshrining god and Buddha statues has largely faded. Even so, faith in Lord Daikoku remains deeply rooted. You can still see stores and restaurants named after Daikoku all over town. Furthermore, because of his very approachable appearance, he sometimes serves as a local mascot for town development initiatives. As the god of business prosperity, he is popular among company owners, who sometimes enshrine him on a kamidana (household altar) in their office. Lord Daikoku is such an accessible figure that he can truly be called a part of the "Japanese heart."

 
Now, this Daikoku certainly looks as though he will bring good fortune. Pay close attention to the small mallet in his right hand. This is called the Uchide no Kozuchi (a magic money-mallet), and tradition says that when it is shaken, gold coins appear. A wood carving of Daikoku with such a magnificent mallet is a little rare, in my opinion. His sack is also impressively large; this sack is said to be filled with treasure.

We sincerely hope you welcome this statue of Daikoku into your home and that you feel both his power to draw in good fortune and the spirit of the "Japanese heart.""

What I like about this Daikoku is the crisp details, the carving on the rice bails is especially fine, as is the carving of the clothes. 

Measures 13cm tall x 8cm wide x 7cm deep