Imai Daruma Naya
Daruma Doll Making
Third-generation daruma doll maker – Hirohisa Imai – aims to create a mix of daruma dolls with traditional craft and contemporary design. He is based in the town of Takasaki in Gunma, which is known to be where daruma originates from.
A long-established tradition as well as a symbol for good luck, fortune and perseverance, daruma dolls are modeled after the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma, who is the founder of Zen Buddhism.
By breaking the normal norms of how a Daruma originally looks like, Imai Daruma brings in a new context and updates the design of the daruma dolls to the current generation. Targeted towards people who are not aware of this long tradition, Imai Daruma works with international designers who gives new insight and design take on the traditional daruma doll.
