Hotei: The Japanese Santa Claus who visits during the New Year
Christmas is just over. You must have received gifts from the potbellied, old man in red and white coloured robe, flaunting a nice and long grey beard, right? Yes, we are talking about Santa Claus! After all, he has been keeping kids all over the world happy around Christmas through centuries. But did you know that Santa Claus doesn’t go to Japan? Instead, it’s Hotei who is the present-bearer and his visit coincides with the New Year.
Wait, but who on Earth is he? Well, he is a jolly Japanese god featuring a rotund frame and carrying a bag full of gifts. You may identify Hotei as the Japanese Laughing Buddha or the Japanese Santa Claus. How did he earn such nicknames? Well, let’s dig deeper into that story.
Meet Hotei: The Japanese Laughing Buddha
Around the globe, people recognise Laughing Buddha as a stout and potbellied man with a happy smile on his face who is supposed to bring forth happiness, prosperity, good luck, plenitude, positivity and contentment to people’s homes.
But in Japan, Laughing Buddha is known as Hotei. Now, there’s a reason why. Turns out, Hotei is nothing but a Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese ‘budai’ (meaning “cloth bag”) which refers to ‘Buddha’ and is the original source behind Laughing Buddha’s name. Moreover, Hotei also refers to the 10th century Chinese monk “Hotei osho” who belonged to the Zen school of Buddhism, that has simplicity and renouncement of fame and fortune as its core principles. In fact, Zen texts often portray Hotei or Budai as a wandering monk who is content to live a humble life and carries a bag full of treasures for children. Some even believe that Hotei is the incarnation of Maitreya or Miroku (in Japanese) who is the future Buddha. Is it just us or do you also see the resemblance of Hotei with Santa Claus?
One of Seven Lucky Gods associated with the Japanese New Year
If you are familiar with the Japanese culture, you might know about Japan’s Seven Lucky Gods and one of them is Hotei. In fact, all the gods have their unique and specific virtue and carries a magical object. In case of Hotei the virtue is generosity and the object is a bag that magically remains full. Guess what it symbolises? Good fortune and abundance for whoever it reaches.
Now, contrary to what the world believes, these Seven Lucky Gods have no significance during Christmas but they play roles during the New Year. Legends have it that on the last few days leading to the New Year, the Six Lucky Gods steer a ship full of their treasures from the Heaven to the Earth. However, on the night of the New Year, it’s Hotei who visits the children while they are asleep and offers them a gift each alongside good luck for the rest of the year. They are also blessed with good dreams, which is why it’s a custom for kids to place a picture of Hotei under their pillows to summon him home.
Now that you know about Hotei, you can guess why he is regarded as the Japanese Santa Claus, right? The roles both of them play during the holiday season is quite similar, not to forget that their images are identical too! However, unlike Santa, Hotei is said to have a secret eye at the back of his head that he uses to keep track of children and their activities, to help him determine whether or not they deserve gifts. For Santa, this job is done by his elves.
Interestingly, Hotei appears as a standing figure carrying gold ingots over his head that is a symbol of celebration, wealth and merriment – all of which are brought forth by Santa Claus too!