Billiken

Japanese: ビリケン
Billiken
(Billiken) A nude statue of a god of good fortune with a triangular head, upturned eyebrows, and pointed ears. Created by an American female artist in 1908. Imported to Japan at the end of the Meiji period, it gained popularity as a god of good fortune, surpassing the maneki-neko (beckoning cat). (Handbook of Foreign Languages ​​(1912)) [Glossary] (1) It is said to be named after Billy, the nickname of the 27th President of the United States, William Taft. In Japan, it was considered a lucky charm for financial luck, especially in the entertainment world.
(2) Because of its shape, the word also came to refer to a person with a pointed head. The military Prime Minister Masatake Terauchi was nicknamed Prime Minister Billiken because of the similarity between the shape of his head and the sound of the term "unconstitutional prime minister."

Source: The Selected Edition of the Japanese Language Dictionary About the Selected Edition of the Japanese Language Dictionary Information

Japanese:
(Billiken) 三角頭、釣り上がった眉、とがった耳を持つ裸像の福の神。一九〇八年にアメリカの女性美術家が創作。明治末に日本に輸入され、福の神として、招き猫を圧倒する人気を得た。〔舶来語便覧(1912)〕[語誌](1)アメリカ第二七代大統領ウィリアム=タフトの愛称ビリー(Billy)にちなんだものと言われる。日本では、特に花柳界で金運招福の縁起物とされた。
(2)その形から頭のとがった人をさすことばにもなり、軍人総理寺内正毅はその頭の形と非立憲宰相という音の類似からビリケン首相と呼ばれた。

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