Page:The Mythology of All Races Vol 8 (Chinese and Japanese).djvu/360

280 figure in the groups she is regarded as the patron of female beauty as well as of wealth. Her messenger is the white serpent.

5. Fuku-roku-ju, or "the genius of Fortune-Wealth-Longevity," is a Chinese figure said to have been once a Taoist sage. He is also spoken of as an incarnation of the southern pole stars. He has a singularly long head, which is believed to be emblematic of all that he gives to mankind. He is always accompanied by the white crane, symbolic of longevity.

6. Ju-rōjin, "the Aged Man of Longevity," is also a Taoist immortal and a patron of long life. A dark-brown deer is his animal and he wanders among the trees and grasses, which are symbolic of health and long life.

7. Hotei, the lover of children, is a fat monk who is believed originally to have lived in China. He is an embodiment of cheerfulness, and is always playing with children, whom he sometimes takes about in the bag which he carries. His bag is also said to contain many treasures which he bestows on those who never worry about the troubles of this life.

In this group of deities, or immortals, we have a combination of mythical figures of Hindu, Chinese, and Japanese origin which have been a good deal vulgarized by the popular desire for riches and good fortune. These deities have their worshippers, but they are not always treated with respect. They are often made the subjects of comic representations, pictorial or theatrical, and are favourite themes for folk-song. The Japanese genius for cheerfulness and merry-making has made possible the curiously contradictory aspects in which the seven deities appear both in art and literature.