Happy Hotei Tee

布袋尊 (Hotei-son): "Lord Hotei."

Hotei's name means cloth sack. He began as a real Chinese Zen monk who wandered with a bag over his shoulder and a big laugh, and after he died, around 916, people came to see him as Maitreya, the Buddha of the future. At Manpuku-ji in Uji, the Zen temple the Chinese monk Ingen founded in 1661, a big seated Hotei greets visitors in the entrance hall as that Buddha.

On the back he's a black silhouette on a cloud, belly out, sack slung over one shoulder and prayer beads in hand, grinning. His name runs beside him in red, 布袋尊 (Hotei-son), "Lord Hotei," and the small red line under "Bringer of Happiness" says the same in Japanese: 幸福をもたらす (kōfuku o motarasu), "brings happiness."

It belongs on whoever's laugh carries from the next room. The red stays warm on the washed light gray, and Ebisu and Jurōjin, two more lucky gods, are in gods and guardians. People rub Hotei's belly for luck, and this one comes with nothing to rub, which is probably for the best.

• Fabric: 100% combed cotton, 230gsm, pre-shrunk and soft-washed
• Print: direct-to-garment (DTG)
• Color: washed light gray
• Fit: unisex, regular; size up for a boxier, oversized look
• Sizes: S to 3XL
• Size reference: 6 ft 2 in wears L; 5 ft 7 in wears M

Measurements for every size are in the size guide.