Countries and cultures - Holidays and traditions - Daruma - Good-luck charms - Traditions - Japan
What is traditionally done with the eyes of a Japanese Daruma doll?
Correct!
Daruma are traditional Japanese good-luck charms, usually shown as round dolls. They are based on Bodhidharma, the legendary founder of Zen Buddhism, and today stand especially for perseverance, good fortune and achieving personal goals. Many Daruma are first sold with unpainted eyes. When someone sets a goal or makes a wish, they traditionally paint in one pupil. If the goal is later achieved, the second eye receives its pupil as well. Takasaki in Gunma Prefecture is especially famous for Daruma and is one of Japan's major centers of production. Its Daruma tradition goes back more than 200 years.
With Daruma, one eye is traditionally painted when setting a goal and the second after achieving it.
