How to
How to use a Daruma doll
One goal, two eyes, and a doll that keeps looking at you until you finish. The ritual, step by step, with the questions people ask most.
The short answer
Choose one goal. Paint in the Daruma's left eye, the one on your right as you face it. Keep the doll somewhere you will see it every day. When you reach the goal, paint in the other eye. After about a year, many people in Japan return their Daruma to a temple to be burned with thanks, then begin again with a new one.
On election nights in Japan, there is a moment the cameras wait for. In a candidate's campaign office stands a very large red Daruma with one eye painted in. When the result comes through, the winner picks up a brush and paints the second eye. The doll, at last, can see.
You do not need an election to use one. The ritual is the same at a kitchen table: one goal, one eye, and a doll that keeps looking at you until you finish. Here is how it works, step by step.
How to use a Daruma, step by step
Choose one goal, paint the left eye, keep the doll in sight, and paint the right eye when you reach the goal. That is the whole ritual. Each step is simple. The details below are what make it stick.
1. Choose one goal
Pick one goal and write it down in a single sentence. It works best when you can say exactly when it is done. "Get fit" is hard to finish. "Run 10 kilometers without stopping" has an ending.
Some people write the goal on the doll itself, on the back or the base. Others tuck a note underneath. Either way, the point is to commit to one thing, in words, before the brush touches the doll.
2. Paint the first eye
Paint a solid black pupil in the Daruma's left eye, the one on your right as you face it. This is the most common practice. Take your time. A slow, round, filled circle feels more like a promise than a quick dot.
Some people ask what happens if they paint the wrong eye first. Nothing bad. Practices vary from place to place. What matters is that the second eye waits for the goal.
3. Keep it where you will see it
The Daruma's job is to be seen. Put it on your desk, by the front door, next to the kettle. Anywhere you will pass it every day. A Daruma in a drawer is just a doll.
The half-painted face is the reminder. It is hard to ignore a doll looking at you with one eye. There is good research behind this, which we cover in why a goal you can see is a goal you keep.
4. Do the work
The Daruma does not do the work for you. It keeps the goal in front of you while you do it. On the days it goes badly, give the doll a push. It will rock, wobble and stand back up. Fall seven times, get up eight.
5. Paint the second eye
When you reach the goal, paint in the other eye. There is a phrase for this moment: both eyes open. It is a small act, and it feels bigger than it looks. It is worth doing with someone who helped you get there.
6. Say thank you, and begin again
After about a year, many people in Japan return their Daruma to a temple, where it is burned in a ceremony of thanks. This happens whether or not the goal was reached. The idea is that the doll has done its work. Then a new Daruma, and a new goal.
At Darumaji in Takasaki, where the modern Daruma began, monks light a bonfire of returned dolls every January. The temple even accepts Daruma bought elsewhere, and by post if you let them know in advance.
If you live far from a Japanese temple, a quiet thank you is enough. Say what it helped you do, and let it go with respect.
What if you don't reach your goal?
Paint the second eye anyway at the end of the year if it was a good year, or start a new Daruma and recommit. Both are common. The tradition is not a test you can fail. It is a way of keeping a goal visible for a set stretch of time and then deciding, honestly, what comes next.
Unfinished goals are information. Maybe the goal was too big for one year. Maybe it changed. A new doll is a clean start with a clearer sentence.
Common mistakes
- Choosing three goals for one doll. One Daruma, one goal. If you have two goals, use two dolls.
- Painting both eyes on day one. It defeats the point. The empty eye is the whole engine.
- Hiding it. A Daruma in a cupboard reminds no one.
- Making the goal vague. If you can't tell when it's done, you can't paint the second eye.
Doing it with someone else
A Daruma is more powerful with a witness. Tell someone your goal when you paint the first eye. Better still, do it together: two dolls, two goals, side by side on a shelf. Whoever finishes first doesn't get to gloat for long.
That is why The Pair holds two dolls in any colors you choose, with a marker for the eyes and the ritual printed inside the lid. Not sure which colors? Read Daruma colors and what they mean.
Questions
Which eye do you paint first on a Daruma?
Most people paint the Daruma's left eye first, which is the eye on your right as you face the doll. The second eye is painted when the goal is reached. Practices vary, so if you already painted the other one, carry on.
What do you paint the eyes with?
Any black ink, paint or marker that gives a solid, round pupil. A brush is traditional. A marker is easier and works just as well.
What if you don't reach your goal?
Traditionally, a Daruma is returned and burned after about a year whether or not the goal was reached. You can then buy a new one and recommit to the same goal, or set a new one.
Can you use one Daruma for more than one goal?
It works best with one. A single goal keeps the doll's meaning clear every time you see it. If you have two goals, use two dolls.
What do you do with a Daruma outside Japan?
Some temples in Japan accept Daruma by post if you contact them first. Otherwise, many people simply say thank you and let it go respectfully, for example by recycling the paper.
Sources
- Daruma doll, Wikipedia
- Takasaki Daruma, a Gunma icon, Visit Gunma
- Daruma fairs (January), Kids Web Japan
- Japan Reports, Vol. 48, No. 4, Consulate-General of Japan in Sydney
- Japanese festival says thank you and goodbye to Daruma good luck dolls with fire, SoraNews24
Written by The Orunoki team. We check every fact against the sources above and update the article when we learn more. Last updated .
