(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 |
(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。 出典 精選版 日本国語大辞典精選版 日本国語大辞典について 情報 |
>>: Vil'kitsky Strait (English: Пролив Вилькицкого/Proliv Vil'kitskogo)
This was one of the government reforms at the begi...
〘Noun〙 An official outside the Imperial Court (Ryo...
…[Ichiro Sakanashi]. … *Some of the terms that me...
…To compare the head shapes of various races, the...
An early Christian basilica in Rome, Italy. Built ...
A general term for insects of the Coleoptera famil...
This river flows from the eastern part of Murakam...
…the daughter of Herodias, the second wife of Her...
...Kinematic theory of gas molecules [Ergodic hyp...
German meteorologist. Born in Magdeburg. He initi...
…This is the site of the first battle of the Amer...
...However, we must not overlook the fact that th...
…He was active as a Confucian scholar a little la...
...The southernmost port city of Israel facing th...
...It is a personality test based on the idea of ...