Netsuke, Hotei, Japan

Netsuke
Hotei
Japan
Around 1900
5,5 x 4 cm

This depiction of Hotei, who is Buddhist in origin, is clearly identified with his headgear as a member of the Seven Gods of Fortune (Shiji Fukujin) of Japanese folk religion. He rests here on his sack, in which he keeps offerings, which he, as a kind of East Asian Santa Claus, distributes to children and the poor, while two rats pull at the lacing and want to open the sack, and a third is already coming out. This is again a Buddhist reference to the transience of earthly goods.