are traditional dolls associated with

good luck Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at any time, both due to rand ...

in Japan. A Fukusuke doll is the depiction of a man kneeling

seiza ): "proper/correct sitting", seiza ( ja, , link=no): "quiet sitting" , Jing zuo '' Seiza '' ( or , literally "proper sitting") is the formal, traditional way of sitting in Japan. Form To sit ''seiza''-style, one must first be kneeling on ...

style, with a large head and a

topknot Topknot may refer to: * A hairstyle or haircut, historically prevalent in Asia: ** Chonmage, a traditional Japanese haircut worn by men ** Sangtu, a knot of hair that married men of the Joseon Dynasty wore in Korea ** Touji (頭髻), a traditional ...

History

It was originally a doll enshrined in

tea house A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whi ...

s or

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub p ...

s in the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...

to bring good luck. In those days, it was considered that Fukusuke would bring "perennial youth, wealth and honor". The doll usually wears a kataginu (かたぎぬ), a kind of vest with exaggerated shoulders. While this kind of garment was worn by

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of History of Japan#Medieval Japan (1185–1573/1600), medieval and Edo period, early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retai ...

or court officials, some say that Fukusuke was based on a

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominall ...

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ...

. The origin of the Fukusuke doll is not clear, others say that its origin is found in the

kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the ...

of luck or fuku no kami (福の神) called Kanō Fukusuke (叶福助) in the Edo period. Fukusuke is often seen in business establishments, and is today treated as a common good luck icon. Many are made of

Chinese porcelain Chinese ceramics show a continuous development since Chinese Neolithic, pre-dynastic times and are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. The first pottery was made during the List of Palaeolithic sites in China, ...

and others handcraft.

''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''

Fukusuke was one of the characters featured on the

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of cop ...

of the Beatles' album ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the roles of sound composi ...

'' (1967).

Notes

{{Portal, Toys, Japan Japanese folklore Japanese dolls Japanese folk art Lucky symbols

History

''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''

See also

Notes