Daruma

2022/10/21

Shiko Tsutsumi

Seimo Mita-kai Member, 1973 Law

On the first and second days of the New Year, the "Earliest Daruma Market in Japan" was held in Takasaki, with the main street in front of the West Exit of the station completely closed to traffic. This year, it was crowded with 400,000 visitors. Until a few years ago, it was held about 5 kilometers west of the station at Shorinzan Daruma-ji Temple of the Obaku sect, located in a hilly area. From the evening of January 6th (Nanakusa) through the 7th, the temple approach was bustling with about a hundred street stalls and Daruma shops. Furthermore, the market began to be held even earlier in front of the station as well.

Why did Takasaki Daruma become so famous? It began in the late Edo period when smallpox outbreaks were frequent. According to folk tradition, red Daruma dolls were believed to be effective against the disease, and they spread throughout the region. Additionally, a man named Tomogoro Yamagata from Toyooka Village is said to have brought doll-making techniques back from Saitama to his hometown, leading to the current design. The climate and geography—where clear skies, low temperatures, and dry conditions persist during the winter agricultural off-season, accompanied by the famous dry "Karakkaze" wind—were likely suitable for outdoor work. In one of the country's leading sericulture regions, farmers whose income fluctuated greatly depending on the year probably relied on them as good luck charms.

Taishu Kawano

Chief Priest of Rinko-ji Temple, Kencho-ji School of the Rinzai Sect; Psychiatrist, 2005 Medicine

October 5th is Daruma-ki (the anniversary of Bodhidharma's death). Bodhidharma, the motif for the "Daruma doll," was an Indian man who was the 28th generation from the Buddha and the first patriarch who founded the Zen sect in China. Although he left no writings during his lifetime, the "Ninyu Shigyo-ron" (Treatise on the Two Entrances and Four Practices), compiled by his disciples, explains the nature of Zen practice through two elements: "Ri-nyu" (Entrance through Principle), which enters through knowledge, and "Gyo-nyu" (Entrance through Practice), which enters through action. Simply learning Zen knowledge can actually lead the mind into a state of self-binding. Conversely, moving around aimlessly without knowledge will not free the mind from delusions. The teaching is that liberation from the suffering of living is only obtained when wisdom is accompanied by the practice of training based on that wisdom.

I myself learn from Daruma-san's teachings every day while involved in psychiatric practice and the maintenance of my temple, but embodying them is an extremely difficult task. It seems difficult to continue Zazen until one's limbs rot away like that doll. That is why I sometimes ask the Daruma on the hanging scroll: "For the coming era, wouldn't a slightly more 'gentle and easy' Zazen be okay too?"

Kazumichi Otani

Teacher, Keio Yochisha Elementary School

"Let's be good children, with unified spirit" is the final part of the lyrics to the "Yochisha Song." Perhaps following these words, most of the class-based events at the Yochisha sports day are competitions where several people cooperate to run. One of these is the third-grade "Daruma Carry." A large Daruma is placed on a platform that looks like a widened stretcher, and students run with it, go around a flag, and return to the baton zone.

The Daruma is huge, and it takes four people to carry the platform and run. If it falls, it is difficult for the children to put it back on. To keep the wobbling Daruma from falling, the four must unify their spirits to carry it. Turning around the flag skillfully is a daunting task, and each group researches and tries to turn well and fast. Unless the four synchronize their breathing while each fulfilling their own role, they cannot carry it well. It is truly a competition where independence and self-respect coexist with respect for others.

They want to win, and they want to receive the taiyaki reward from their homeroom teacher. Whether aware of such worldly desires or not, the Daruma on the platform will likely be carried again this year, dancing slightly as it goes.

Masahiro Kishima

Teacher, Keio Senior High School

Heading west from Shuzenji and gently climbing the Nishi-Izu Skyline, one reaches a watershed at the highest point of 982 meters. This main peak is Mount Daruma. There is a theory that it was likened to the seated Bodhidharma, but the ridgeline seen from the Shuzenji side is gentle and does not give that impression. The view from the top is spectacular; from the southwest to the west, one can see Suruga Bay and the setting sun, and to the north, the majestic Mount Fuji towering over the back of Suruga Bay.

Mount Daruma is a volcano that was active about one million years ago. The Izu Peninsula was formed by a southern island moving north and colliding with Honshu; at that time, just before the collision, they were separated by a narrow strait. Mount Daruma grew by discharging low-viscosity lava and eventually became the junction between Izu and Honshu. At this time, neither Hakone nor Fuji had yet appeared, and the Tanzawa mountain range would have been visible from the summit of Mount Daruma. Eventually, around 600,000 years ago when Mount Daruma's activity slowed, Hakone and Fuji began to grow. Mount Hakone erupted repeatedly, becoming a complex mountain with a caldera. Mount Fuji swallowed up pre-existing volcanoes and continues to grow today. Mount Daruma, which finished its activity early, quietly watches over the ever-changing landscape.