miniature antique daruma charms - a touch of tradition and good fortune

Love Japanese Style like We Do

Invite good fortune and timeless tradition into your home with this quaint set of miniature antique Daruma charms. Housed in a charming wooden and glass display box, this unique collection adds an elegant and meaningful touch to your decor, perfect for any space seeking a blend of tradition, luck, and positive energy.

Crafted in the 1920s, this set features hand-painted clay Daruma figures representing the Seven Lucky Gods of Japan, each with its own powerful symbolism. These miniature icons are a delightful reminder of Japanese culture and the blessings they bestow:

Ebisu: God of fishermen and prosperity in business
Fukurokuju: God of wisdom, luck, and longevity
Hotei: God of happiness, contentment, and good fortune
Jurojin: God of longevity
Bishamonten: God of victory
Daikoku: God of commerce, agriculture, and prosperity
Benzaiten: Goddess of financial fortune, music, and art

Each Daruma rests gracefully on a small wooden stand within its wooden display box with a removable glass front. True to tradition, these Daruma are okiagari, or self-righting, meaning they will rise again after being knocked down, symbolizing the resilience found in the Japanese proverb, “seven times down, eight times up” (Nana korobi ya oki). This charming feature serves as a reminder to overcome life’s obstacles with perseverance.

This special set is a beautiful representation of the Japanese custom Shichi Fukujin Meguri, a New Year’s tradition where devotees visit seven temples and shrines to honor each of the Seven Lucky Gods, purchasing a small amulet from each shrine to complete their set. This piece is a vintage token from such a sacred walk, making it a truly meaningful and auspicious addition to your altar or collection.

The set is in excellent antique condition, with signs of age and natural color fading that only add to its nostalgic charm and authenticity.

Add a piece of Japan's rich cultural heritage to your home with this rare and captivating Daruma charm set—a symbol of good fortune, resilience, and traditional blessings.

-  box measures around 20 cm (7.9”) long x 7 cm (2.8”) tall x 4.5 cm (1.8”) deep.
 - tallest god measures around 4.5 cm (1.8”) tall.
- weighs 170 gm.

(listing for boxed daruma set)

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ABOUT OUR VINTAGE AND ANTIQUE ITEMS
We list pieces we feel are worthy of display. There may be scratches, dents, fading and signs of wear and tear. We try to explain the condition of each item exactly, but may miss something.

Information regarding the item and it’s age is obtained from dealers and our personal research. We do our best to give you the correct information but please be aware that we cannot guarantee this information.

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THE SEVEN LUCKY GODS
The Seven Lucky Gods of Japan, known as "Shichifukujin", are a group of gods from Japan, India, and China. Only one of the gods is native to Japan and the Shinto tradition.  This god is known as "Ebisu". Three of the remaining six gods are from the Hindu faith and are called "Daikokuten", "Bishamonten" and "Benzaiten".  And the other three gods, "Hotei", "Jurojin" and "Fukurokuju", come from China stemming from Chinese Taoist-Buddhist traditions.  Each god had a separate existence before Japan created the Seven Lucky God group in the 17th century. 

According to the Japanese legend, the gods travel in a ship called "Takarabune".  The ship is filled with treasures and brings fortune and prosperity to everyone. It is believed that if you leave a picture of the Seven Lucky Gods under your pillow on the night of the last day of the year, they will bring you luck and good fortune for the next year.

Images of the Seven Lucky Gods appear often in modern Japan. They are an excellent example of the way Hindu, Buddhist, and Shinto beliefs exist side by side in Japan. 

DARUMA IN JAPAN
The Daruma of present day Japan actually finds it’s origins in an Indian  Buddhist monk named Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma was the founding patriarch of the Chan/Zen school and he eventually became revered as an equal to the Buddha himself.

He went to China, to convert the Chinese, at the beginning of the sixth century and  settled in Song Shan. Here it is said he practiced meditation for nine years facing a wall. Bodhidharma’s lofty teaching won him a few disciples, but also some powerful enemies, and he was eventually poisoned by two rivals. Soon after his death a Chinese emissary claimed to have met him. When Bodhidharma’s tomb was opened, it was found empty. He  was deemed  a Daoist Immortal.

According to a later Japanese tradition, Bodhidharma never returned to India but traveled on to Japan, where he was associated with the Tendai school and Shotoku Taishi (517-77). From the Tenadai  school and the  ‘one mind precepts’ of Bodhidharma (Daruma isshinkai)  the first Zen school emerged, called the ‘Daruma school.’ There is a Daruma Temple at the foot of Mt. Kataoka; a monastery associated with Shotoku Taishi.

By the mid Edo era, the Indian patriarch of Chan/Zen had come a long way. He was an extremely popular deity and was now seen as a protector of children and bringer of good luck.

He was represented as a legless, tumbling talisman doll, that  ‘falls seven times and rises eight times,’(nana korobi ya oki). This okiagari (falling and rising) form of Daruma comes from the belief that Bodhidharma, after sitting in meditation for nine years in a cave came to lose his legs.

This tumbling  Daruma  also lent itself to sexual symbolism, and until the Meiji period, phallic forms of Daruma in stone or paper mache were sold. Stone deity statues were often placed  in the country at crossroads and they were associated with sexuality and fertility. These deity stones were called dosojin.

The name ‘Daruma’ was also a nickname for prostitutes in the Edo Era. Like the doll, these specialists of tumble could raise the energy of their customers! In ukiyoe Daruma was often presented  in comical fashion in the company of a prostitute, sometimes even as a transvestite or as a woman. He was also a  part of a couple called, ‘Mr. and Mrs. Daruma.’ The chubby Okame, (smiling  woman who brings good luck to all) was often seen as his partner.

Daruma were initially good-luck objects (engimono) placed on the home  altar (kamidana)  to bring good harvests and prosperity to their owners. The okiagari Daruma soon became a popular symbol of perseverance, new beginnings and the attaining of one’s goal.

Daruma was also believed to help overcome illness rapidly. During  the smallpox epidemic in the Edo period, Daruma had become a protector against smallpox. He was perceived as a god of smallpox (hosogami) but his role was to control the smallpox demons so they would not harm children.  (hosogami were seen as the cause of epidemic diseases and eventually turned into protectors against these same diseases).

The Daruma doll was offered with other auspicious toys, like dogs to sick children. The color, symbolizing measles was important. The altar to the smallpox god was decorated with red paper strips, a daruma doll, and an owl and the sick child had to wear a red hood., just like Bodhidharma in his red robes with a red hood.

So Daruma has been represented in a variety of forms with much symbolism; the Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma, likened to the Buddha himself and responsible for starting Zen Buddhism, a crossroad deity associated with sexuality and fertility, a god of epidemics who ultimately protected children against disease, a god of good fortune, bringing good harvests and prosperity, and a god of perseverance, giving one the determination to achieve goals.