Hotei 布袋

Ch: Budai. A semi-legendary, itinerant 10th-century Buddhist monk who became a popular subject in Chinese and Japanese ink painting. His real name is said to have been Qici (Jp: Keishi 契此), whose biography is found in the 908 Song Gaosenzhuan (Jp: Sō Kōsōden 宋高僧伝) or the Legends of High Priests of the Song Dynasty. He lived on Mt. Siming 四明 in Mingzhou 明州, Fenghua 奉化, where he frequently strolled through a nearby town carrying his large cloth bag (Ch: budai; Jp: hotei 布袋). Thus he earned his affectionate nickname, Priest Budai. Budai's air of "enlightened innocence" led him, like *Kanzan Jittoku 寒山・拾得, to be admired as an exemplar of Zen values. Although originally he was said to have filled his bag with anything he encountered on his wanderings, later Zen interpretations speak of Budai's empty bag. Ironically, in Japanese popular culture Budai's bulging bag and contented appearance led to his inclusion in the seven gods of good fortune *shichifukujin 七福神. Budai was also thought to have been an incarnation of *Miroku 弥勒.
In painting Budai is shown with sparse hair, a smiling face, a large bare belly, loose garments, and carrying a bag and wooden staff. In later paintings he is shown in a variety of poses, usually seated or sleeping on his bag, but also dancing, walking or pointing upward at the moon. In Edo period painting Budai is frequently pictured together with groups of playing children. Early Chinese examples include paintings by Liang Kai (Jp: Ryō Kai 梁楷, mid-13th century; Kōsetsu 香雪 Museum, Hyōgo Prefecture), Muqi (Jp: Mokkei 牧谿, late 13th century), and Yintuoluo (Jp: Indara 因陀羅, late 14th century; Nezu 根津 Museum, Tokyo), while a plethora of Japanese versions range from works by Mokuan 黙庵 (?-1345) to Ogata Kōrin 尾形光琳 (1658-1716) to numerous *mitate-e 見立絵 prints in *ukiyo-e 浮世絵.