Hotei is one of the Shichi Fukujin, the seven Japanese Shinto-gods of luck. He is the god of happiness, laughter and the wisdom of contentment, and is the patron of the weak and children, fortunetellers and bartenders. He is most often depicted in the company of children, or carrying or sitting on a sack of money (the sack rests in his hand in this view). He is known in the west as the laughing Buddha, or happy Buddha. He allegedly lived around the 10th century, and his name (Hotei) literally means cloth sack. He wandered aimlessly, laughing and patting his fat belly, and eventually became known as one who brought abundance, fortune, and joy to all he encountered with the help of his mystical "cloth sack" bag. This mud man (you can see from the photograph of the bottom how he was formed around a hand from clay) measures a little over 7 inches high, and another 7 inches wide, 4 1/4 inches deep. This figure dates circa 1910.