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daruma

Daruma Man: The Japanese gacha capsule toy series we never knew we needed

Here to help you with the heavy work of making all your wishes come true.  

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Year of the Dragon Pooh! Disney Japan’s plushies gets early Chinese zodiac changeover【Pics】

Eto Pooh drops early.

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Studio Ghibli releases a Totoro daruma and beckoning Catbus in Japan for New Year

The sold-out collection every Ghibli fan wants to get their hands on.

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Visit the birthplace of the Japanese daruma in Gunma Prefecture

Home to some unusual rotund inhabitants.

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Japan’s daruma dolls seem to be causing problems for horses at the Tokyo Olympics

Creative touches appeared to cause culture shock for four-legged competitors in equestrian event.

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Starbucks Japan lucky bag showdown! We snag three fukubukuro, but are they all the same?【Pics】

You can always count on cool drinkware, cute plushies, and free coffee from Starbucks Japan at New Year’s.

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Starbucks Japan unveils New Year’s drinkware range for 2021

Mt Fuji, daruma dolls, and zodiac year motifs are just some of the images featured in this limited-edition Japanese collection.

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Disney’s Japanese New Year’s plushies and figures are ready to make oshogatsu cuter than ever

Mickey, Minnie, Pooh, and even Baymax turn into traditional symbols of good luck and the Chinese Zodiac to help ring in 2020.

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Designer makes daruma good enough to eat with sushi, parfait and fried pork

Japan is a country that really values tradition, but that doesn’t mean that traditional culture is completely sacrosanct either. Giving something old and iconic a tongue-in-cheek modern twist is a popular approach in art and commerce, with results at once familiar and jarring enough to be eye catching.

Like these daruma, spotted at Tokyo Design Week, with outrageous paint jobs and wearing some rather tasty-looking headgear.

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“Pop” daruma dolls so popular you’ll have to wait three years to get one

Daruma are a kind of roly-poly wishing doll in Japanese Buddhism. You draw one eye in while making a wish, and then fill in the other when your wish comes true. Given their sweet purpose and blob-like shape, traditional daruma are already pretty charming, but a woodcarving shop in Kagawa Prefecture has found a pop makeover makes them even more attractive, so much so that there is a 3-year waiting list to get one!

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Here’s what your life’s been missing: a 3-D Daruma doll shaped like your face

Little, fat, round, lucky – Daruma dolls are an instantly recognisable Japanese trinket that also serve as a source of inspiration, encouraging people to achieve their goals. Daruma dolls usually come with two blank white eyes. You paint on one eye as you set yourself an objective (pass an exam, get a promotion, etc) and then paint on the second eye once you achieve your goal. As such, Daruma are a popular gift given to students cramming for exam season. But wouldn’t it be amazing if you could buy a Daruma doll crafted in the likeness of your own ugly face? Well, now you can, and what’s more – they’re three dimensional!

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Unusual flat-pack daruma voted Japan’s most fascinating souvenir

If you’re looking for a unique Japanese gift that’s light in your luggage but heavy in tradition, then this is the item for you. It’s called the KD Daruma (Knock-Down Daruma) and it’s modelled on the centuries-old, round, good-luck talisman which symbolises Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen sect of Buddhism. This modern take on the daruma features a flat-pack design and clever assembly so unusual it’s just been awarded first prize as Japan’s most fascinating souvenir in a competition held by the Japan Tourism Agency. We take a closer look at the details to see what makes this little novelty so charming.

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