Church of Good Luck
Lucky Gods
Of course, first among Lucky Gods at the Church of Good Luck comes Billiken, the God of Things As They Ought To Be. Billiken was Patented in 1908. Please read the Billiken and the Billiken Lore pages for more information.
Joss is another God, made by the Florentine Alabaster Company in 1908. The word "Joss" is often considered to be a variation on the latin word "Deus", meaning God. Old-time Chinese temples in the U.S. were sometimes called "Joss Houses" and stick incense is still referred to as "joss sticks".
Another image that became a "Good Luck craze" in the 1900s was the Imp-O-Luck. The Imp was created by E.M. Viquesney and issued Design Patent #D62349 in 1923. Mr. Viquesney was already famous for sculpting The American Doughboy, a statue commemorating the U.S. World War I soldier. The Imp was a leprechaun-like figure emerging from a horseshoe surrounded by four-leaf clovers. The Imp-O-Luck was manufactured and sold by Viquesney in a number of formats including a statuette and a pocket piece. The Imp is considered to be one of the minor, yet efficacious Gods here at the Church of Good Luck.
This statuette is plaster or chalkware and stands about 8 inches tall.
Above is the pocket piece. It depicts the statuette inside another horseshoe for an interesting visual effect. The back proclaims "Here's Good Luck" Imp-O-Luck Co. Spencer, Ind.
For more information on the Imp-O-Luck please visit this website for much interesting information about the Imp, the Doughboy and Mr. Viquesney.
In Japan there is a tradition of The 7 Lucky Gods or Shichifukujin, who originally came from China and India as well as Japan. Each of the seven also symbolize a cardinal virtue. Additional information on the 7 Lucky Gods is available at this website.
This is a group of small metal Lucky Gods. They are each about 2 inches high and are marked with a number from 1-7 on the bottom. A few are also marked Occupied Japan
Above on the left is Daikokuten, Lucky God of Earth, farmers, the harvest and the kitchen. On the right is Ebisu, Lucky God of fishermen, and honest labor.
Above left is Benzaiten, Lucky Goddess of art and music. On the right is Bishamonten, Lucky God of War.
Above left is Fukurokuju, Lucky God of Wisdom (he has a big head) and on the right is Juroujin, Lucky God of Longevity.
Above is Hotei, the Lucky God of Happiness. Hotei is the prototype of the Lucky Buddha. It is often said that rubbing Hotei's belly brings Good Luck. Here are a couple of other representations of Hotei:
In fact, many people have noted that perhaps Hotei was an inspiration in the creation of Billiken. In fact, in Japan the Billiken is sometimes called "The Eighth Lucky God".
Above is another God, inspired by Hotei, but taken to silly extremes. This is a 1967 Russ Berrie & Co. oily jiggler named Eggroll. The tag says "Rub my belly and I will bring you luck".
This chubby fellow is a Hawiian take on the Billiken, complete with tufted hair and pointy ears.
Joss is another God, made by the Florentine Alabaster Company in 1908. The word "Joss" is often considered to be a variation on the latin word "Deus", meaning God. Old-time Chinese temples in the U.S. were sometimes called "Joss Houses" and stick incense is still referred to as "joss sticks".
Another image that became a "Good Luck craze" in the 1900s was the Imp-O-Luck. The Imp was created by E.M. Viquesney and issued Design Patent #D62349 in 1923. Mr. Viquesney was already famous for sculpting The American Doughboy, a statue commemorating the U.S. World War I soldier. The Imp was a leprechaun-like figure emerging from a horseshoe surrounded by four-leaf clovers. The Imp-O-Luck was manufactured and sold by Viquesney in a number of formats including a statuette and a pocket piece. The Imp is considered to be one of the minor, yet efficacious Gods here at the Church of Good Luck.
This statuette is plaster or chalkware and stands about 8 inches tall.
Above is the pocket piece. It depicts the statuette inside another horseshoe for an interesting visual effect. The back proclaims "Here's Good Luck" Imp-O-Luck Co. Spencer, Ind.
For more information on the Imp-O-Luck please visit this website for much interesting information about the Imp, the Doughboy and Mr. Viquesney.
In Japan there is a tradition of The 7 Lucky Gods or Shichifukujin, who originally came from China and India as well as Japan. Each of the seven also symbolize a cardinal virtue. Additional information on the 7 Lucky Gods is available at this website.
This is a group of small metal Lucky Gods. They are each about 2 inches high and are marked with a number from 1-7 on the bottom. A few are also marked Occupied Japan
Above on the left is Daikokuten, Lucky God of Earth, farmers, the harvest and the kitchen. On the right is Ebisu, Lucky God of fishermen, and honest labor.
Above left is Benzaiten, Lucky Goddess of art and music. On the right is Bishamonten, Lucky God of War.
Above left is Fukurokuju, Lucky God of Wisdom (he has a big head) and on the right is Juroujin, Lucky God of Longevity.
Above is Hotei, the Lucky God of Happiness. Hotei is the prototype of the Lucky Buddha. It is often said that rubbing Hotei's belly brings Good Luck. Here are a couple of other representations of Hotei:
In fact, many people have noted that perhaps Hotei was an inspiration in the creation of Billiken. In fact, in Japan the Billiken is sometimes called "The Eighth Lucky God".
Above is another God, inspired by Hotei, but taken to silly extremes. This is a 1967 Russ Berrie & Co. oily jiggler named Eggroll. The tag says "Rub my belly and I will bring you luck".
This chubby fellow is a Hawiian take on the Billiken, complete with tufted hair and pointy ears.