You don’t have to look around for long to spot the first of these red heads with big eyes and a grumpy expression. We’re talking about a Daruma (だるま).
The figure represents the monk Bodhidharma. According to legend, he has no arms or legs anymore because they fell off from years of meditating. And because he once fell asleep while meditating, he cut off his eyelids out of anger over his carelessness, which gave him the big eyes.
The Daruma is considered a lucky charm. It’s mostly sold with white eyes. You make a wish and then paint in one eye. Then you put the figure in a place where you pass by daily if possible. The sight of the Daruma with only one painted eye is meant to constantly remind you of the wish. If it comes true, the Daruma gets its other eye painted in as a reward. It has then fulfilled its purpose and is ceremoniously burned at the turn of the year in the temple where it was bought.
Daruma figures are made of papier-mâché and are hollow inside. They come in different sizes. The body is usually painted red, but you can also find it in white and other colours. You can buy them in temples and sometimes as おみやげ (omiyage) in souvenir shops - a nice little gift from a trip to Japan. For a quick wish on the go, you can sometimes even find pre-prayed Darumas, for example for health or exam success.
Thanks to its shape, the Daruma also became a roly-poly toy in the 18th century. It reminds you to get back up and carry on after a setback. The Japanese say 七転八起 (nanakorobi yaoki) for this: fall down seven times, get up eight times.
Fun fact: Snowmen are called 雪だるま (yuki daruma) in Japanese - snow Daruma.
