Japan’s Laughing Buddha Hotei is merging into Santa Claus — both are roly-poly sacred figures with a bag of gifts

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1. >As Christmas approaches, children in many parts of the world look forward to a visit from the potbellied Santa Claus, who comes down chimneys carrying a sackful of gifts over his shoulder. In Japan, some children also wait for Hotei, a jolly Japanese god with a rotund frame who carries a similar bag full of treasures. Hotei’s visit, however, coincides with the new year.
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   >The name Hotei is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese “budai,” which means “cloth bag.” In Japan, Hotei is also known as Hotei oshō, or “monk Hotei,” which refers to his origin as a 10th-century Chinese monk. Hotei belongs to the Zen school of Buddhism, which celebrates simplicity and rejects the desire for fame and fortune. Zen texts portray Hotei as a wandering monk who is content to live a humble, simple life. He carries a large sack full of odds and ends and shares his “treasures” with children.
   Some texts even identify Hotei as a Buddha…

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   >Hotei’s well-fed appearance and bag of treasures represented abundance in China and Japan. As a symbol of good fortune, Hotei was included in the set of Seven Lucky Gods, which developed in Japan by the 17th century. Along with Hotei, this set brought together other Buddhist gods – Daikokuten, Bishamonten and Benzaiten – with Chinese gods of longevity and prosperity and the Shinto god Ebisu. Each god is associated with a magical object and a specific virtue. Hotei’s object is his bag that magically remains full, and his virtue is generosity.

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   >The Seven Lucky Gods do play a role in a Japanese holiday – but on New Year’s, not Christmas. In the first few days of the new year, the Seven Lucky Gods steer their treasure ship from the heavens to earth. On the first night of the new year, children place under their pillows a picture of the seven gods on their ship. This is supposed to bring a good dream, a sign of good luck for the year ahead. As one of these lucky gods, Hotei is known for being fond of food and drink, and even serves as the patron deity of bars and restaurants.
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   >Given the many similarities between Hotei and Santa Claus, including the roles they play in the holiday season, it is not surprising that people both inside and outside Japan have conflated Hotei with Santa Claus.

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   >Japanese Christmas developed its own unique customs, such as eating at KFC and buying strawberry-adorned Christmas cakes. While many Americans celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, in Japan, with its tiny Christian population, Christmas is wholly secular.

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   >Accounts of Christmas in Japan often emphasize Hotei’s role as Japanese Santa Claus, and describe Hotei with eyes on the back of his head so that he, like Santa, can constantly observe children to determine whether they truly deserve presents.
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   >However, not everyone in Japan is convinced that Hotei is the Japanese Santa Claus. In Japan it is still Santa Claus, not Hotei, who gives children presents on Dec. 25. Still, every year in December, revelers put a Santa hat and beard on the Hotei statue in Tokyo’s Maitreya Temple, or Mirokuden, which shows how common the identification of Hotei with Santa Claus has become.