Takarabune are splendid sailing ships laden with treasures such as gold and silver, gems, coral, and other precious cargo. The sails are often decorated with auspicious kanji or other symbols. Spirits of good luck like the Seven Lucky Gods and auspicious animals are often seen aboard and around takarabune… Takarabune appear at the beginning and again at the end of Toriyama Sekien’s final yōkai book, Hyakki tsurezure bukuro. The yōkai in this book are all described as things he saw in dreams, so the takarabune serves as both a symbolic framework for his book—a vessel to carry the “treasure” contained within the book—and as a good luck charm to protect readers from the strange dreams it describes.
Description Takarabune are splendid sailing ships laden with treasures such as gold and silver, gems, coral, and other precious cargo. The sails are often decorated with auspicious kanji or other symbols. Spirits of good luck like the Seven Lucky Gods and auspicious animals are often seen aboard and around takarabune… Takarabune appear at the beginning and again at the end of Toriyama Sekien’s final yōkai book, Hyakki tsurezure bukuro. The yōkai in this book are all described as things he saw in dreams, so the takarabune serves as both a symbolic framework for his book—a vessel to carry the “treasure” contained within the book—and as a good luck charm to protect readers from the strange dreams it describes.
