Japanese
Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi
草薙剣 (Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi)
Cuts the grass by itself and turns back fire.
WeaponFirst recorded 712
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Photograph: A woodblock print (surimono) by Yashima Gakutei of about 1828, Mallet of Daikoku and a Rat. A gray rat sits on a red mallet painted with a peony, with a poem written above.
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2,676 × 3,000 PX2676×3000
ArchiveJapanese · Treasure
Uchide no Kozuchi
打ち出の小槌
Shake it and whatever one desires pours out.
- Owner
- The god of fortune Daikokuten, Issun-bōshi
- Maker
- Unknown
- First record
- Otogizōshi, “Issun-bōshi”1700
- Gallery
- Japanese
Notes on the photograph 3
Story
Uchide no Kozuchi means "little mallet of striking out." Shaking or striking it was said to bring forth whatever one wished, gold, silver or rice.
In "Issun-bōshi," a story in the Edo-period Otogizōshi, the thumb-sized boy Issun-bōshi fought and defeated a demon from inside its belly, using a needle as his sword. When a princess shook the mallet the fleeing demon dropped, Issun-bōshi became a fine grown man.
The mallet is also famous as the object held by Daikokuten, one of the seven gods of fortune, standing on bales of rice. It is often pictured with the rat, Daikoku's messenger.
The object in the photo
The photograph shows Mallet of Daikoku, One of the Gods of Good Fortune, and a Rat(Japan, probably 1828), a real museum object that evokes the legendary artifact.
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八尺瓊勾玉
One of the three sacred treasures, holding the spirit of the gods and the legitimacy of the imperial line.
JewelFirst recorded 712
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