The modern Father Christmas is partly based on Saint Nicolas, a 13th century Turkish bishop who has some fairly wild stories and mythology built up around him. He was said to be a defender of his people very literally, like a sort of ancient Catholic Batman, solving crimes and handing out beatings.
He used to leave anonymous gifts of money to unmarried women, so they wouldn't be forced into sex work, and this is where the gift tradition began, thus giving him the very strange distinction of being both Santa Claus and the patron saint of prostitutes.
I haven't seen Tokyo Godfathers but skimming the description it sounds not too dissimilar! There has to be an element of the miraculous. Allowances made for being set thousands of miles and hundreds of years from medieval Constantinople.
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