SYORINZAN DARUMA-JI

Shorinzan Daruma-dera is an Obaku-sect Buddhist temple in Takasaki City, famous for the “Takasaki Daruma Market.” Its formal name is Shorinzan Hotai-in Daruma-dera, and it is known as the birthplace of the lucky “engidaruma” (Daruma dolls). The origin of these daruma dolls is said to date back to 1783 (Tenmei 3), when a major eruption of Mt. Asama led to many natural disasters and a severe famine in the surrounding area. To help rescue impoverished local farmers, the 9th head priest, Togaku Oshō, carved a wooden mold based on a simple “one-stroke Daruma zazen image,” taught people how to make papier-mâché Daruma dolls, and they began being sold with spirited calls at the New Year’s Nanakusa Festival fair—this is considered the beginning. Although it is a historic temple, a fire in 1881 (Meiji 14) destroyed the temple and most of its old documents, so details such as the temple’s founding are unclear. One theory says that a Kannon hall originally existed here, and in 1680 (Enpō 8), an ascetic named Iryō Koji visited, carved and enshrined a statue of Bodhidharma (Daruma Zenji), and the site spread locally as a sacred place of “Daruma’s appearance—Shorinzan,” becoming the origin of Daruma-dera.