TeaRiceIncenseA book given awayA lesson taughtPeaches or a peach bun
Invocation Approach
Tone
Kind shrewd scholar
Address
FukurokujuFu-Lu-ShouGod of WisdomThe High-Foreheaded One
Relationship
The old scholar who measures a life in what was learned
Warning
The three blessings in his name are happiness rank and long life and rank is the one people regret
Resonance
Scholars teachers elders those who want a long and useful life
Symbols
The high foreheadStaffScrollCraneTurtleThe three blessings
Mythology Summary
Fukurokuju's name is the Japanese reading of the Chinese Fu-Lu-Shou — happiness, rank and long life — the three star gods of the popular pantheon, and he is shown as an old man with an enormously high forehead, a staff and a scroll, with a crane and a turtle. In Japan he is one of the Seven Lucky Gods and a god of wisdom as well as of long life, though his role overlaps so heavily with Jurojin's that the two are often one figure in practice. The tradition does not settle whether they are one god or two, and the uncertainty is part of the material rather than a gap to be filled.
Modern Practice
He is asked for a long and useful life, and the practice is the teaching given away: a book passed on, a lesson actually taught, tea and incense at the New Year. He is the one of the seven to approach before an examination or a long project rather than before a gamble.