Note 35 — Chapter XVII · Culture Mixing in Japan

The pearl (tama) is “one of the treasures of the Takaramono, a collection of objects associated with the Japanese gods of luck, which includes the hat of invisibility (Kakuregasa), a lion playing with a jewel, a jar containing coral, coins, &c.; coral branches (sangoju), the cowrie shell (kai), an orange-like fruit, the five-coloured feather robe of the Tennins, the winged maidens of the Buddhist paradise, copper cash, &c.”35 But although the tama may correspond to the mani of the Indian Buddhists, it was not of Buddhist origin in Japan; the Buddhists simply added to the stock of Japanese “luck jewels”.