Budai, 19th century, Shunsō Shōju, Japanese, 1750 - 1839, 39 x 11 3/4 in. (99.06 x 29.85 cm) (image)72 1/8 x 16 5/16 in. (183.2 x 41.43 cm) (overall, excluding scroll bar), Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan, 19th century, Budai, or Hotei in Japanese, is a folkloric deity of Chinese origins. In Buddhism, he is understood to be an incarnation of the Buddha of the Future, Maitreya. He is usually depicted as a bald, chubby monk carrying a staff and large sack that holds all his possessions. In this image he sits before his large sack, and his staff lies before him with three chintamani, or wish-fulfilling jewels, a common implement of Buddhist deities. The painter of this image, Shunsō Shōjū, was a well-known Zen priest who rose to the rank of abbot of Myōshinji, one of the largest Zen monasteries in Kyoto.