Vintage Japanese Bronze Statue of Fukurokujin, God Of Longevity & Wisdom 8.25"

This is a Japanese bronze statue of the Chinese god Fukurokujin sitting on the floor leaning against an armrest playfully getting his tall bald head polished by a child assistant. In Japan, Fukurokuju (福禄寿 from Japanese fuku, "happiness" roku, "wealth" and ju, "longevity") is one of the Seven Lucky Gods in Japanese mythology. It has been theorized that he is a Japanese assimilation of the Chinese Three Star Gods (Fu Lu Shou) embodied in one deity. Most related in appearance to the Chinese star god Shou, he is the God of wisdom and longevity. According to some, before attaining divinity, he was a Chinese hermit of the Song Dynasty and a reincarnation of the Taoist Deity, Xuantian Shangdi. It is said that during his human incarnation, he was a sennin an immortal who could exist without eating food.

Fukurokuju probably originated from an old Chinese tale about a mythical Chinese Taoist hermit sage renowned for performing miracles in the Northern Song period (960–1127). In China, this hermit (also known as Jurōjin) was thought to embody the celestial powers of the south polar star. Fukurokuju was not always included in the earliest representations of the Seven in Japan. He was instead replaced by Kichijōten (goddess of fortune, beauty, and merit). He is now, however, an established member of the Seven Lucky Gods. Fukurokujin here is depicted reclining against an armrest happily while an attendant polishes his large bald head with joy. This statue bears the earmarks of Japanese design conventions from the arm rest to the spherical ear lobes. The makers mark on the bottom is rendered in old seal style calligraphy.

The sculpture stands 8 1/25" high by 6 1/2" wide by 6 1/2" deep. It weighs 10 pounds 9 ounces. Having been carefully displayed and in storage for much of the past 40 years, with just a bit of oxidation on the bronze finish, it remains in  very good  NOTE this listing is for the bronze statue only it DOES NOT come with the stand seen in the photos