Otafuku: Joy of Japan

By Amy Sylvester Katoh and Yutaka Satoh

Book Overview

In shops, shrines, homes and gardens throughout Japan, at noisy festivals and in the most serene teahouses, you are likely to encounter the plump, smiling image of Otafuku--a mythic figure from Japan's distant past. With her twinkling eyes and rosy lips, she appears in countless incarnations: on banners, cups and bowls, and in craft, furniture, painting and sculpture. Who is this warm, wonderful lady, whose gentle and calming presence is felt everywhere in Japan? In Otafuku , renowned author Amy Katoh explores in her own inimitable way the colorful world of Otafuku. Katoh traces Otafuku's roots and folk beginnings, showing her many delightful identities, and providing a magical glimpse into this charming and little-known corner of Japanese culture. With a mixture of poems, photographs, anecdotes and stories, she presents a veritable jewel box of surprises that is sure to enchant readers. Today Otafuku is Japan's most influential female icon and is attributed with having many bestowing powers including health, pleasure, success, and the granting of wishes.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 4805313129
• ISBN13: 9784805313121
• Release Date: September 2021
• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Katoh brings us another gorgeous book.

A little gem of a book brimming with great photos. Amy's text reflects her long time affection of Japan's jolly household goddess Otafuku. I'm smitten & blessed at the same time.

The fat lady on the package of natto

Japan is a country with a varied and populous pantheon of characters, both divine and otherwise. You see them smiling or frowning or laughing or scowling from almost every conceivable area. Packets of food, corners of rooftops, inside of cups and even your own underwear are all populated with a host of faces. Some are mere commercial creations, like Hello Kitty and Doraemon, while some, like Daruma, have a more ancient and venerable origin. Such is the case with Otafuku. "Otafuku: Joy of Japan" is an ode to joy for one of these characters, a chubby, cherubic luck-goddess whose smiling face is one that I have seen for years but never known its name. Of no particular religion or station, Otafuku is simply a spreader of happiness and good fortune, seeking to make everyone as fat and jolly as herself. Often found in the kitchen, or above doorways, she is a smiling babies face, or an old grandmother offering you homemade sweets. The author Amy Katoh is a super-collector of Otafuku. Living in Japan for more than 30 years, she has amassed a museum's worth of nicknack's and artifacts, ranging from 15th century Kyogen masks to modern toothpick holders. With the practised eye of an artisan (Katoh runs an artist's shop called "Blue and White" in Tokyo), she has haunted the flea markets and back-alley vendors selecting the finest and most charming Otafuku-wear available. Highlighting her collection and a few choice pieces, Katoh has accompanied the photos with text, telling the origin and history of Otafuku, relating some stories of how she has brought luck and fortune into Katoh's life, and telling the lives of some others whom Otafuku has touched. The writing is as light and friendly as befits the subject, and her enthusiasm in infectious. Along with this are some beautiful haiku poems that give a feel for the pictures, creating atmosphere as haikus do. Everything about "Otakuku: Joy of Japan" is authentic Japan. The text is bilingual, in both English and Japanese. The objects and images are things you will encounter in daily life in Japan. I love the flow of the ancient to the modern, and how no matter how many centuries pass, simple pleasures like Otafuku's happy face continue to keep smiling away.

Inviting Joy In

This charming book about Otafuku, a Japan deity of good cheer, is delightful! The photographs of her, in all her little guises, warms the heart and the stories of Amy Katoh captures a tiny sweetness of Japan. If you are looking for something to spread (or find) the joy that can be noticed in small things in daily living, this is the book.