"Daikoku and others, from the series A Children's Handbook of String Pictures (Kyokumusubi osana tehon)"
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Source:
- Museum of Fine Arts Boston
- Image courtesy of
- Museum of Fine Arts Boston
A sheet from the Kyokumusubi osana tehon series depicting Daikoku, one of the Shichifukujin (Seven Lucky Gods), alongside other subjects adapted for children's string-figure play. Daikoku is conventionally shown as a stout, smiling deity seated or standing on rice bales, holding a large cloth sack over one shoulder and a small mallet (uchide no kozuchi) capable of granting wishes. His rounded silhouette and stable pose make him a natural subject for a loop-string diagram, where the outline of the figure must be both recognizable and achievable through a defined sequence of hand movements. Kyosai renders the god with characteristic economy — a few assured lines conveying weight, good humor, and iconographic completeness. The series frames traditional religious imagery within a secular, playful context suited to Meiji-period popular publishing.
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
Woodblock print
"Daikoku and others, from the series A Children's Handbook of String Pictures (Kyokumusubi osana tehon)" was created by Kawanabe Kyosai (河鍋暁斎).
"Daikoku and others, from the series A Children's Handbook of String Pictures (Kyokumusubi osana tehon)" depicts daily life.
