Netsuke, Spherical hotei, Japan

Netsuke
Spherical hotei
Japan
Around 1900
4 x 4 cm

Very original depiction of the god of luck Hotei, whose pot-bellied figure is here exaggerated to a spherical shape.
Hotei is the Japanese version of the Chinese "Laughing Buddha" Budai, which goes back to a medieval mendicant monk.
Revered in China especially by Chan/Zen Buddhists, Hotei has crossed religious boundaries in Japan, as it were, and has also been included among the Seven Lucky Gods of Shinto folk religion, where he stands for contentment and bliss.
Humorous and sometimes even parodic depictions of gods are nothing unusual or even sacrilegious, especially in Japanese Buddhism, but are deeply rooted in Buddhist philosophy. From the Zen master Hakuin Ekaku (1685-1768) an ink painting is already handed down, in which Hotei is represented as a ball stuck in his sack.