The Shichifukujin are a syncretic group: Ebisu (Shinto), Daikokuten, Bishamonten, Benzaiten, and Hotei (Buddhist), and Fukurokuju and Jurōjin (Taoist). They sail together on the treasure ship bringing good fortune at New Year.
Hotei and Milefo are the Japanese and Chinese forms of the Laughing Buddha, both based on the eccentric Chan monk Budai of the tenth century, whom tradition identified as an incarnation of the future Buddha Maitreya.
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