Daikoku: A Shinto God of Thrift
The values of Scouting are found in many cultures. Thrift is a value taught in the Bible [for example, Proverbs 6:6-11] and in the traditions of other religions. Shintoism, the old national religion of Japan, has seven major gods, and one of them teaches that a person doesn’t have to be miserly and stingy to be thrifty. He also teaches that a person doesn’t have to have a sour personality to have a good work ethic.
Here is the description of Daikoku from a 1901 book. The author had lived and studied in Japan:
“Daikoku is a short chubby fellow, with eyes half sunk in fat, but twinkling with fun. He has a flat cap set on his head, a loose sack over his shoulders, and big boots on his feet. His throne is two straw bags of rice, and his badge of office is a mallet or hammer, which makes people rich when he shakes it. The hammer is the symbol of labor, showing that people may expect to get rich only by hard work. One end of it is carved to represent the jewel of the ebbing and the flowing tides, because merchants get rich by commerce on the sea, and must watch the tides. He is often seen holding the counting-board [abacus], on which you can reckon, do sums, subtract, multiply or divide, by sliding balls up and down a row of sticks set in a frame, instead of writing the figures. Beside him is a ledger and day-book. His favorite animal is the rat, which, like some rich men’s pets, eats or runs away with his wealth.
“The great silver-white radish called daikon, two feet long and as big as a man’s calf, is always seen near him, because it signifies flourishing prosperity. He keeps his bag tightly shut, for money easily runs away when the purse is once opened. He never lets go his hammer, for it is only by constant care that any one can keep money after he gets it. Even when he frolics with Fukoruku Jin [the god of long life, and a good friend of Daikoku], and rides on his [i.e., Fukoruku] head, he keeps his hammer swinging at his belt. He has huge lop ears. Once in a while, when he wishes to take exercise, and Fukoruku Jin wants to show how frisky he can be, even if he is old, they have a wrestling-match together. Daikoku nearly always beats, because Fukoruku Jin is so tall that he has to bend down to grip Daikoku, who is fat and short, and thus he becomes top-heavy. Then Daikoku gets his rival’s long head under his left arm, seizes him over his back by the belt, and throws him over his shoulder flat on the ground. But if Fukoruku Jin can only get hold of Daikoku’s lop ears, both fall together. Then they laugh heartily and try it again.”
A Scout leader shouldn’t just read this to the Scouts, but can take some of the information and explain to them the value of thrift.
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FROM: Dobbins, Frank S., S. Wells Williams, and Isaac Hall. Story of the World’s Worship. Chicago: The Dominion Company, 1901, pp. 325-326.