A vintage unglazed Bizen-yaki okimono of Daikoku, with ironlike hardness and gradual colors on the silken surface are from the direct result of high temperture firing in a kiln for weeks. Daikoku is the patron of wealth and farmers, the bestower of a cornucopia of abundance overflowing with the staples of life that is symbolized in his magical mallet. The name Daikoku may read "Great Black" in kanji, which is the Hindu deity Mahakala, a three faces and six arms wrathful guardian, who is also worshipped in the Buddhist faith. However, by the 8th century in China, he was depicted as a gentle deity, and later was introduced to Japan around the 15th century. For that reason the Chinese characters Daikoku are the same as the Japanese symbols for Okuni, the Shinto God of Agriculture. The two deities and their characteristics became intermingled through time. Consequently, Daikoku began to appear with a mallet and rice bales, symbols of bountiful harvest. He is also often seen accompanied with a rat. Such associations simply may be because of Daikoku's festival occurs on the Day of the Rat in Japan.