jurojin, the god of longevity

This is turning into one of those blogs with only pictures and no words. Well, usually I have a million words interspersed with a few pictures, so view it as a welcome change, or a change, at least. I like this one. He is one of the seven gods of good fortune, derived from a Taoist tradition. This somewhat illustrates the Japanese approach to religion. In this Buddhist temple, there is a Shinto shrine, and this Taoist entity. There is a mini-statue of himself by his feet, and the jizo in the background are looking on.