Takasaki Lucky Daruma

Lore

Created around 1781–1789 at Shorinzan Daruma Temple in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture. Predominantly red, it depicts Bodhidharma in seated meditation. During the Tenmei famine, the temple's abbot encouraged locals to craft "fortune Daruma" dolls as a source of income for disaster relief—thus giving rise to the iconic tumbling Daruma.