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A round red figure with a bearded face and no limbs.
Also known as: Daruma, Dharma doll, Round red doll, Goal doll
A Daruma is bought with both pupils left blank: one is painted in when a goal is set and the other when it is achieved. It is weighted at the base so it rights itself when pushed over — the whole object is a statement about persistence.
Denotes a round Japanese votive figure representing Bodhidharma, sold with blank eyes to be filled in on setting and achieving a goal.
Contexts: History
Is weighted at its base so that it returns upright when knocked over, embodying the proverb about falling seven times and rising eight.
Contexts: History
Is customarily returned to a temple to be burned at the year's end, which is why the objects are not kept indefinitely.
Contexts: History
Is limbless because Bodhidharma is said in legend to have lost the use of his limbs after nine years of meditation — a traditional account rather than a historical one.
Contexts: History
A rounded hollow figure with a wide base and no arms or legs, painted red with a bearded moustachioed face and two large blank white discs where the pupils would be painted in.