Inori no Mori祈りの杜working title

Group of figures

Roku Daikoku

六大黒ろくだいこく

A grouping of six deities: Biku Daikoku, Ōjikara Daikoku, Yasha Daikoku, Makakara Daikokunyo, Shinda Daikoku and Makara Daikoku.

This introduction is based on materials from Shōhōin (Tobi Fudō). It is summarized within the scope of the beliefs and traditions those materials convey, and does not present explanations or customs common to all schools, shrines, and temples.

English pages are the site’s own translations of its Japanese pages. The sources cited are in Japanese. 日本語で読む

The name and role of the Roku Daikoku

A grouping of six deities: Biku Daikoku, Ōjikara Daikoku, Yasha Daikoku, Makakara Daikokunyo, Shinda Daikoku and Makara Daikoku. They are described as Daikoku's family and retinue.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院

Tracing the form and traditions

Daikoku is said to have diverse characters, such as a god of war, a god of darkness, a god of food and a god of fortune; it is explained that in India he took a three-faced, six-armed form wearing an elephant skin, while in Japan he came to take the form standing on rice bales and holding a magic mallet (uchide no kozuchi). It is said that as devotion spread, special forms of Daikoku such as the Six Daikoku arose.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院・飛不動尊 正宝院

The diverse development of Daikokuten devotion

The Six Daikoku are six forms introduced as the family and retinue of Daikokuten. Daikokuten combines the character of a stern deity who protects Buddhism with devotion related to food and good fortune. The form changed across periods and regions, and in Japan it was also merged with Ōkuninushi no Mikoto.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院

From guardian of the kitchen to many forms

Shōhōin notes that Daikokuten was enshrined in monastery dining halls and kitchens, and that as devotion spread, forms such as the three-faced Daikoku, the Six Daikoku and the husband-and-wife Daikoku arose. The Daikokuten of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune, holding rice bales and a mallet, is not the only form. The individual forms of the Six Daikoku show this diverse development.

Source: 飛不動尊 正宝院

Related kami and buddhas

Sources (in Japanese)