BINBŌGAMI 貧乏神
Pronunciation: BEEN-boh-GAH-mee
Translation: The God of Poverty
Etymology: Binbō means “poor” or “poverty.” Gami is the same as kami and can mean “god,” “spirit,” or “deity;” this term encompasses both good and bad forces or spirits.
Overview
The binbōgami is a yōkai that brings impoverishment and ill fortune to everyone it encounters. If this poverty god decides to live in your house—not that you’ll necessarily know, because it’s wily and keeps hidden—it’ll drive out all your good luck, leaving you poor and miserable.
An 1884 painting by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi entitled Jakikyūki (邪鬼窮鬼), which literally means “Harmful Demon, Poor Demon” but carries the English title Demons of Illness and Poverty Stalking the Lucky Gods, shows us an early depiction of what the binbōgami might look like. The painting shows a destitute-looking pair of creatures; the one that looks like a skinny, dirty old man wearing tattered clothes and waving a paper fan is the binbōgami.
Why is the binbōgami considered a “god”? That’s because, remarkably, this wretched deity can also be found mentioned in Buddhist scriptures, specifically in the Daihatsu Nehankyō sutra (大般涅槃教), also known as the Mahāparinirvana sutra. Even more surprising is that although almost all the depictions of the binbōgami today are of a filthy old man, in these sacred texts, it was said to be a woman. She’s referred to politely as the “Venerable God of Poverty” and called Kokuanten (黒闇天, which is the kanji for “black darkness” combined with the character for “heaven”).
Kokuanten invites bad luck and disaster, but she has a beautiful older sister named Kisshōten or Kichijōten (吉祥天) who is the goddess of auspicious fortune; she brings beauty, fertility, abundance, and happiness to all.
Background and Popular Stories
Have you ever known someone who just can’t seem to hang on to money, or who is constantly plagued by one unfortunate event after another? Well, in Japan, someone might say that person either is a binbōgami, is living with one, or has one clinging on to them. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason as to why this poverty god would attach itself to you or your house.
It is rumored, though, that the binbōgami loves the rich savory smell of grilling fermented bean paste, called yakimiso (焼き味噌). For this reason, it’s suggested you should never broil miso at home, lest you inadvertently call this unfavorable god.
Speaking of the savory aroma of charbroiled miso, the binbōgami is almost always seen holding a frayed paper fan called a shibu uchiwa (渋団扇). This is a traditional fan that is coated with persimmon tannin to make the delicate washi paper stronger, longer lasting, and insect repellent. The poverty god uses this ever-present tool not to cool itself off, but to waft the delicious smell of grilling miso its way. But be careful, because the shibu uchiwa also has the power to make people more and more poor.
Since no one knows how to avoid the binbōgami (other than not broiling miso), the trick is to know how to get rid of it. In Japan, there’s a shrine for nearly everything, so of course, there is one dedicated to the binbōgami or, more precisely, expelling it from your life. One such shrine is called Binbōgami Jinja, located in Iida City, Nagano Prefecture, and it is having a lot of fun with this yōkai. This binbōgami shrine is situated in the very back of a store and warehouse that makes and sells miso. Inside, you’ll find a giant miso barrel cut open to reveal an extremely gloomy-looking wooden statue of the yōkai, a large tree stump (the “Sacred Tree”), a stick that has been named “bin bō” (which is a pun off the words for stick, bō, and poverty), and instructions.
Usually, when greeting or addressing one of Japan’s many deities, you place your hands together and pray. Here, the directions state, whatever you do, don’t do that. Instead, use the binbō stick to hit the tree trunk three times as hard as you like, proclaiming, “Binbōgami deteke!” or “Binbōgami, go away!”
Next, kick the tree trunk three times, repeating the same phrase, and then, finally, take a handful of beans from a box provided and throw them into the barrel at the effigy of the unlucky deity, stating that you wish to expel the poverty god that is living in your heart. There is also a list of positive statements you can recite in order to shift your luck. The trick for ridding yourself of a binbōgami might not be banishing it, but changing your way of thinking.
One popular story about the binbōgami seems to back up that theory. Once, the beautiful and refined good-luck goddess, Kisshōten, visited a random house. The owner of the house, realizing who she was, excitedly invited her in and made sure she was comfortable, treating her like the goddess she was.
After some time, there was another visitor at the door: the ominous and unlucky goddess Kokuanten. The owner of the house, seeing this shabbily dressed and dirty deity, was furious and chased her away. Relieved that he was able to get rid of her, he returned to his elegant guest, but found her already walking to the door. As she left, she said to him, “That was my sister, Kokuanten. We go everywhere together. We’re two halves of a whole, and without her, there is no me.”
And she left.
This story teaches that both the god(dess) of poverty and the god(dess) of fortune are two sides of the same coin.
In Modern Stories
There’s a Japanese manga and thirteen-episode anime written and illustrated by Yoshiaki Sukeno; it’s called Binbōgami ga! (The Binbōgami!) and has been translated into English as Good Luck Girl! The story revolves around a spoiled high school girl who has always had exceptional luck, often drawing it from her surroundings. In order to rebalance the world, the god of misfortune is sent to the human world (in the guise of another teenage girl) to steal some of her luck.