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On 布袋腹

布袋腹 (hoteibara: potbelly)     cloth + bag + belly

I initially thought this must be ateji, because 布袋 should be futai, not hotei. In fact, futai is the yomi when those two kanji appear alone in a word:

布袋 (futai: cloth bag)     cloth + bag

You may recognize the first kanji from 財布 (saifu: wallet, wealth + cloth, textile), which has a cool breakdown.

In China, about 1200 years ago, 布袋 also meant “cloth bag” and was the nickname of a Buddhist priest who always carried a cloth bag on his back. This legendary priest had a big belly, as you can see.

The Japanese have borrowed his nickname as the root of their term for “pot belly.” That means hotei is not quite ateji; rather, it may be the best approximation the Japanese could make of the Chinese word for “cloth bag.”

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