A lit. "kami of poverty" is a kami (god or spirit) in Japanese folklore said to inhabit a person or their house, bringing poverty and misery. References to binbōgami appear in classic Japanese tales, essays, and rakugo performances.
Description
A binbōgami typically appears as a skinny, dirty old man with a pale complexion, often carrying a
Uchiwa and wearing a sad expression. Regardless of appearance, they are said to be fond of lazy people.
When inhabiting a house, they reportedly prefer to live in closets.
According to the poet Nakamura Kōgyō, binbōgami have a fondness for
miso, and use their fans to waft and enjoy its aroma.
Some descriptions add details like wielding a
kendama and wearing only one broken geta.
Being a kami, a binbōgami cannot be killed, but methods to drive one away exist.
Folklore and Literature
Historical References
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The personification of poverty appears as early as the 13th-century collection Shasekishū (Collection of Sand and Pebbles), Vol. 8, Tale 14 ("Driving Out Poverty"). Here, the entity is called "Hinkyū-den" (貧窮殿, Lord Poverty). The story describes a 50-year-old monk named Enjōbō from Owari Province who, along with his disciples on the last day of the month, chased Hinkyū-den out of his residence by striking with peach branches while chanting incantations, finally shutting the gate behind it.
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The term "binbōgami" itself dates back at least to the Muromachi period. Records from Kyoto, devastated by the Ōnin War, mention a rumor from June 1481 (Bunmei 13): "The wives of the Fukugami (Gods of Fortune) from Sakai have entered the capital (Kyoto), and the husbands, the Binbōgami of Kyoto, have gone down to Sakai."
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The term appears in renga (linked verse) in Moretake Senku by Arakida Moritake, composed around 1540 (Tenbun 9).
[ Seisenban Nihon Kokugo Daijiten (Carefully Selected Japanese Dictionary), entry for 「貧乏神」.]
Edo Period Tales
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(Toen Shōsetsu, Tales from the Rabbit Garden, 1825) by Kyokutei Bakin and others, features a "Kyūki" (窮鬼, Poverty Demon):
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Tsumura Soan's essay collection Tankai (譚海, Sea of Tales, c. 1795):
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Ihara Saikaku's Nippon Eidaigura (日本永代蔵, The Eternal Storehouse of Japan, 1688), includes the story "Inoru shirushi no kami no oshiki" (祈る印の神の折敷, The Oshiki Tray as a Sign of Prayer):
Beliefs and Practices
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Driving Away:
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In Niigata Prefecture, lighting a fire in the irori (sunken hearth) on Ōmisoka (New Year's Eve) is said to drive away the binbōgami due to the heat. Conversely, the warmth is said to attract the Fukugami (gods of good fortune).
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Several superstitions connect binbōgami to the irori. In Tsushima, Ehime (now part of Uwajima), excessively poking the irori fire is said to summon a binbōgami.
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The Senba ritual in Osaka involved using the smell of baked miso to lure binbōgami out of houses and into a folded miso plate, which was then discarded in a river. Those performing the ritual washed thoroughly afterward to avoid bringing the god back.
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Transformation: Hospitality towards a binbōgami might transform it into a fukugami, as suggested in Nippon Eidaigura.
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Proverb: The saying "柿団扇は貧乏神がつく" ( Kaki uchiwa wa binbōgami ga tsuku - "A persimmon-wood fan attracts the binbōgami") derives from the belief that binbōgami are attached to these types of fans.
Modern Shrines and Representations
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The binbōgami from Nippon Eidaigura, capable of turning poverty into fortune, is enshrined at the Ōta Shrine, located within the grounds of the Ushi-Tenjin Kitano Shrine in Kasuga, Bunkyō, Tokyo. It is believed that by praying at the shrine, temporarily welcoming the binbōgami into one's home, and then respectfully sending it off after 21 days of veneration, one can sever ties with poverty.
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Myōsen-ji Temple in Taitō, Tokyo, enshrines a stone statue of a binbōgami.
[Image links:
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This statue is specifically modeled after the popular Binbōgami (King Bomby) character designed by Takayuki Doi for the Hudson Soft game series Momotaro. The statue is named "貧乏が去る（猿）像" ( Binbō ga Saru Zō), a pun meaning "Statue of Poverty Leaving," as saru means both "to leave" and "monkey". Consequently, the statue features a monkey riding on the binbōgami's head.
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Similar "Binbō ga Saru Zō" statues based on the same game character have also been installed at Kino Station in Kagawa, Sasebo Station in Nagasaki, and Nakanomachi Station on the Choshi Electric Railway.
See also
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List of Japanese deities
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List of legendary creatures from Japan
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Seven Lucky Gods (counterparts associated with fortune)
Bibliography
