So the Buddhist idols finding they could not banish or kill Daikoku, agreed to recognize him, and so they made peace with him and to this day Buddhists and Shintōists alike worship the fat little god of wealth. He then told his master the tale of his adventure, but begged that he might never again be sent against Daikoku. He was so frightened that he never stopped until he reached Yemma’s palace, when he fell down breathless. The oni yelling with pain ran away as fast as he could run. With this in his fore-paw, he ran at the oni, whacked him soundly, and stuck him all over with the sharp prickles. Go chase him off the premises.”Īway scampered the rat to the garden and plucked a sprig of holly with leaves full of thorns like needles. Rat) I feel some strange creature must be near. He was already chuckling to himself over the prospect of such wealth being his own, when Daikoku squeaked out to his chief rat. Then he thought it would be an easy thing to pounce upon Daikoku. Not a door or window could be seen, but climbing up a narrow plank set against the top edge he peeped over, and there sat Daikoku. He went further on till he came to a large store house standing alone and built in the shape of a huge rice-measure. View of Imaichi at Nikko Road by Kimbei KusakabeĮntering the gate, the oni peeped about cautiously but saw no one. Around him was stored in straw bags his rice which he considered more precious than money. One day he met a sparrow who directed him to Daikoku’s palace, where among all his money-bags and treasure piled to the ceiling, the fat and loop-eared fellow was accustomed to sit eating daikon radish, and amuse himself with his favorite pets, the rats. So the oni had to travel a long way, and ask a great many questions of people, and often lose his way before he got any clue. It was not an easy thing to find Daikoku, even though every one worshipped him. Shino made his bow to his master, tightened his tiger-skin belt around his loins and set off. Now Yemma had under him a whole legion of oni, some green, some black, others blue as indigo, and others of a vermillion color, which he usually sent on ordinary errands.īut for so important an expedition he now called Shino a very cunning old fellow, and ordered him to kill or remove Daikoku out of the way. At last they called Yemma, the judge of the lower regions, and gave him the power to destroy Daikoku. So the Buddhist idols determined to get rid of the little fat fellow. Even when they became Buddhists they still burned incense to Daikoku, because he was the patron of wealth for everybody then, as now, wanted to be rich. A long while ago, when the idols of Buddha and his host of disciples came to Japan, after traveling through China from India, they were very much vexed because the people still liked the little black fellow named Daikoku.
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