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.”
