Japan: Jurojin with deer, watercolour, 1902

In Japan, Jurojin is one of the Seven Gods of Fortune - or Shichifukujin - and is based on the Taoist deity of the Old Man of the South Pole. Jurojin was considered the god of longevity, and is the personification of the Southern Polar Star, and may have been based on a historical figure from the Northern Song Dynasty.

Jurojin is often depicted as an old man with a very tall, bald head and a long white beard, wielding a staff and a fan. Tied to his staff is a scroll, sometimes identified as a Buddhist sutra, with the lifespan of all living things written on it. He is sometimes accompanied by a deer, which is a symbol of longevity alongside other long-lived animals such as the crane and tortoise.

While there are many paintings and statues of him, which are considered auspicious, he never developed a strong independent following like some of the other Seven Gods of Fortune.

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Pictures From History