福禄寿-人気 - FUKUROKUJU - Popularity

Popularity is the main point we think of when we see FUKUROKUJU. He is easily recognized by his small size and his long, bald head. His appearance is that of a Chinese hermit (sennin) who is said to have lived during the Sung Dynasty.

福禄寿を見たときに頭に浮かぶのは、人気ということです。福禄寿は小柄であることと、その長いはげた頭で容易に見分けることができ、その外見は、宋王朝時代に存在していたと言う一般的な中国の仙人と同じです。

In fact, while the other 6 gods stand for one or two things, FUKUROKUJU stands for everything that humans want in life — wealth, happiness and long life. If a person is in good standing with FUKUROKUJU, he needs none of other gods. In spite of his powers, however, he lacks the popularity of Daikoku or Ebisu.

確かに、ほかの6人の神は1つか2つの徳を表すのに対して、福禄寿は、人間が生きるために必要なあらゆるもの、富や幸福、長寿などを表しています。福禄寿に気に入られさえすれば、ほかの神の加護は必要ありません。そんな力を持っているにもかかわらず、福禄寿には大黒や恵比寿のような人気はありません。

In addition to having a long, bald head, he also has long white whiskers. He carries a staff, as does Jurojin, with a book tied to it. His book is of Buddhist teachings and has nothing to do with a person´s fate. In America and the rest of the world, we have an expression that says “longheaded”. It means a clever and a wise person. This saying has not been found in Japanese.

長いはげ頭に加えて、長くて白い頬ひげをたくわえ、寿老人のように本をくくりつけた杖を持っています。この本は仏教の教えに関する本で、人の運命とは関係ありません。アメリカなどの国々では、「長頭」という表現で利口な賢い人を表すことがありますが、これは日本語にはありません。

FUKUROKUJU is always accompanied by a crane (tsuru). The crane is the symbol of long life and it is appropriate that it is associted with FUKUROKUJU since he is a god of longevity, too. The reason he is not as popular as Daikoku and Ebisu is that his face is rather solemn and his head makes him seem strange to us. However, his name is full of happiness (huku), wealth (roku) and long life (ju).

福禄寿には必ずツルがお供をしています。ツルは長寿の象徴で、福禄寿もまた長寿の神ですから、ツルが福禄寿のお供をしているのは納得できます。福禄寿が大黒や恵比寿ほど人気がないのは、顔付きがとても厳粛で、頭部が奇妙に見えるからです。しかし、その名前は、幸福(福)、富(禄)、長命(寿)で満たされています。

From his name alone, he may well be the most important of the gods, but his appearance reduces his status. While he doesn´t look so happy, he does look wise.

名前だけでみると、七福神の中でも一番重要な神といってよいでしょうが、その外見で損をしています。そして、幸せそうではありませんが本当に賢そうに見えます。