Koushin

Koushin is a traditional Japanese board game piece and accompanying lore stemming from the Koshin faith, a folk belief system blending Shinto, Buddhism, and Taoism. It gained historical prominence during the Edo period, where it was utilized in communal rituals held on the night of the Koshin day to prevent the three worms, or sanshi, from reporting a person's misdeeds to heaven while they slept.

The physical design of the pieces associated with this practice often features motifs of the three wise monkeys—see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil—which serves as an iconographic representation of the Koshin philosophy. These objects were crafted to serve both as devotional talismans and as components for social gatherings, reflecting the intersection of spiritual discipline and the playful, artistic sensibilities of historical Japanese artisan culture.