The large character carved on the side of the odaiko is the letter "N" in the Japanese Hiragana syllabary. It was written by Shigechiyo Izumi, who was the oldest person in the world at the time, and then transfered to the body of the odaiko, carved and gold leafed. In the case of the N! odaiko, the character is a pun meaning something like "to the max."

Return to the Odaiko page.