FUKUROKUJU

also called Fukurokujin (from Japanese fuku, happiness; roku, wealth; and ju, longevity), in Japanese mythology, one of the Shichi-fuku-jin (Seven Gods of Luck). He represents longevity and wisdom. Like Jurojin, another of the seven, with whom he is sometimes confused, he is said to have once lived on earth as a Chinese Taoist sage. He is depicted frequently in small sculptures and paintings and on craft items as a short old man with a conspicuously high-domed, bald head. He is occasionally accompanied by a crane or by another animal associated with longevity, such as the deer or the tortoise. See also Shichi-fuku-jin.