NAME, WISH OR MAKER'S HAND?
Start with the name: だるま, ダルマ and 達磨. Then separate that name from five wishes documented by Takasaki City and check what each source can—and cannot—tell you.
One proverb · three name forms · six inscription records · sources checked 27 August 2026KANJI CHART · SIX DOCUMENTED TEXTS
The name 達磨 plus the five wishes Takasaki City documents on its Daruma. English lines are Atlas readings in context; other makers and regions can use different lettering.
| Kanji | Romaji | English meaning | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|---|
| 達磨 | daruma | Daruma; the Japanese name used for Bodhidharma and the doll modeled on him. | A name for the figure, not a wish inscription |
| 福入 | fuku-iri | Fortune enters; an inscription welcoming good fortune. | Belly on the Takasaki form described by the city |
| 家内安全 | kanai anzen | Safety and wellbeing for the household. | Shoulders on the Takasaki form described by the city |
| 商売繁盛 | shōbai hanjō | Prosperity and flourishing business. | Shoulders on the Takasaki form described by the city |
| 大願成就 | taigan jōju | Fulfillment of a great wish. | Shoulders on the Takasaki form described by the city |
| 目標達成 | mokuhyō tassei | Achievement of a goal. | Shoulders on the Takasaki form described by the city |
Choosing a Daruma for a goal? Match the wish to a regional form, or read which eye to paint first.
The large belly character on our Shorinzan Darumaji purchase is 福 (fuku, good fortune). It is not safe to read an extra 入 into this photograph. The chart above explains 福入 as a separate inscription documented by Takasaki City.
祈願 (kigan) means a prayer or wish; it is not an inscription we can verify on this purchased object. The photographs support the characters shown here, not every possible daruma inscription.
Publisher's original object photographs and the temple's supplied eye-opening instructions, checked October 7, 2026. English meanings are our contextual translations. See all five photographs of the same doll.
THE SHORT ANSWER
達磨 is the name. It is the established Japanese name Daruma, connected with Bodhidharma—not a two-character motivational slogan.
Body text often carries a wish. On the Takasaki form documented by the city, 福入 appears on the belly while four longer wishes appear on the shoulders. A maker may also offer different or custom lettering.
Read the phrase before reading the object. Matching text cannot establish who made a doll, how old it is or whether the design is authentic.
DARUMA IN ENGLISH
Short answer: the English name is still Daruma. Add a plain-English gloss only when the reader needs to know whether you mean the doll or the monk.
Translation boundary: Daruma is not literally English for “doll,” “wish” or “perseverance.” Those words explain the object and its associations. Official English-language Japanese sources retain Daruma, then explain the doll as modeled on Bodhidharma.
THE DARUMA SAYING
七転び八起き
nana korobi ya oki
“Seven times down, eight times up.”
This is the Japanese saying most closely associated with a self-righting Daruma. Takasaki City connects the doll's return to an upright position with a calm, patient response to difficulty; Gunma's official English guide uses the line to explain perseverance.
DARUMA IN JAPANESE · THREE SCRIPTS
Quick answer: だるま, ダルマ and 達磨 can all represent the name Daruma. For pronunciation, keep da · ru · ma as three short, approximately even sound units.
da · ru · ma
BEST FOR · A clear phonetic spelling
Boundary: This is the name in a phonetic script. It is not a translation of what every doll means or proof of a doll's origin.
PRONUNCIATION · DIRECT ANSWER
Say it roughly “dah-roo-mah.” Use that English spelling only as a starting point, then keep all three Japanese beats short and even.
BEGINNER GUIDEdah · roo · mahNot “DAH-rooooo-mah.”
Japanese counts だ・る・ま as three mora, or haku. The Japan Foundation notes that each haku has approximately the same length. The museum's English respelling is a learner aid, not a full phonetic transcription.
Hear community recordings Forvo hosts third-party community recordings. Daruma Atlas does not copy, edit or authenticate the voices.FIELD READER · SOURCE-BOUNDED JAPANESE
Match exact characters, then check the reading, likely role and evidence boundary. This is a controlled phrase guide—not camera OCR, object authentication or a universal catalog of every maker's lettering.
fuku-iri
ALL SIX · STATIC REFERENCE
These English lines are contextual readings for field use. They do not replace a maker's explanation and do not turn one Takasaki record into a rule for every region.
The Japanese name · A name for the figure, not a wish inscription
A major Japanese dictionary record treats 達磨 as a transcription and name connected with Bodhidharma, then separately records the familiar doll.
Boundary: Do not invent a slogan by translating 達 and 磨 one character at a time. Here the pair functions as the established name Daruma, not as a two-kanji wish.
Kotobank — 達磨 dictionary recordGood-fortune inscription · Belly on the Takasaki form described by the city
Takasaki City names 福入 as the gold-painted belly inscription on Takasaki Daruma and describes the writing as carrying a wish.
Boundary: “Fortune enters” is an Atlas contextual reading, not an official municipal translation. Lettering and placement can vary by maker and object.
Takasaki City — History of Takasaki DarumaHousehold wish · Shoulders on the Takasaki form described by the city
Takasaki City lists 家内安全 among the wish inscriptions painted in gold on the shoulders of Takasaki Daruma.
Boundary: This identifies the phrase, not the age, maker or authenticity of a doll carrying it.
Takasaki City — History of Takasaki DarumaBusiness wish · Shoulders on the Takasaki form described by the city
Takasaki City lists 商売繁盛 among the wish inscriptions painted in gold on the shoulders of Takasaki Daruma.
Boundary: The phrase expresses a wish; it is not a promise of commercial results or proof of a particular workshop.
Takasaki City — History of Takasaki DarumaGreat-wish inscription · Shoulders on the Takasaki form described by the city
Takasaki City lists 大願成就 among the wish inscriptions painted in gold on the shoulders of Takasaki Daruma.
Boundary: The English line conveys the phrase in context; it does not guarantee that every object uses the same calligraphic form or placement.
Takasaki City — History of Takasaki DarumaGoal inscription · Shoulders on the Takasaki form described by the city
Takasaki City lists 目標達成 among the wish inscriptions painted in gold on the shoulders of Takasaki Daruma.
Boundary: This phrase names an aim. The doll remains a reminder of work toward the goal, not evidence that the goal will be achieved.
Takasaki City — History of Takasaki DarumaCUSTOM LETTERING
The Gunma Official Tourist Guide describes a craftsperson painting a kanji of the visitor's choice on the stomach or back. Treat that as evidence for that experience, not as a universal menu, booking promise or entitlement to copy a workshop's distinctive hand.
Gunma Official Tourist Guide — Gunma craftspeopleQUICK ANSWERS
The large gold belly character on our Shorinzan purchase is 福 (fuku), meaning good fortune. Do not add an 入 that the photograph does not clearly show. 福入 is a separately documented Takasaki inscription, explained in the six-entry chart.
祈願 (kigan) means a prayer or wish. The photographs here do not establish that inscription on the purchased doll. They show 福 on the belly and 家内安全 and 無病息災 at the sides; do not treat every prayer-related phrase as lettering visible on this object.
Keep Daruma as the romanized Japanese name. On first mention, “Daruma doll” or “Japanese good-luck doll” can explain the object; use “Bodhidharma” when referring to the monk. Doll, wish and perseverance are contextual explanations—not literal English translations of Daruma.
Three useful forms are だるま in hiragana, ダルマ in katakana and 達磨 as the established kanji name. They represent the name; they do not prove the origin or meaning of a particular doll.
A beginner English approximation is “dah-roo-mah.” Then keep だ・る・ま as three short, approximately even Japanese mora. The respelling is a learner aid; use the linked community recordings to hear actual speakers.
The saying most closely associated with the self-righting doll is 七転び八起き (nana korobi ya oki), commonly rendered in English as “seven times down, eight times up.” Official Takasaki and Gunma sources connect it with persistence and the doll returning upright. They present it as a Japanese saying—not as a verified quotation spoken by Bodhidharma.
There is no single required inscription. Takasaki City documents 福入 on the belly and wishes including 家内安全, 商売繁盛, 大願成就 and 目標達成 on the shoulders of Takasaki Daruma. Other makers and regional forms can differ.
達磨 is the established Japanese name Daruma, connected with Bodhidharma. It should not be decoded as a modern wish by translating the two characters separately.
Takasaki City documents 福入 on the belly of Takasaki Daruma. Daruma Atlas renders it contextually as “fortune enters” or an inscription welcoming good fortune; that English wording is an Atlas paraphrase, not an official city translation.
The Gunma Official Tourist Guide describes a craftsperson painting a visitor's chosen kanji on the stomach or back in one workshop context. That does not guarantee the same option, language support, price or availability everywhere; check the current provider page.
You can copy the exact Unicode phrase for reference. A phrase and a maker's brushwork, composition, logo or protected design are not the same thing. Ask the maker before reproducing a distinctive commercial or artistic treatment.
No. It matches six documented text strings only. It does not identify a maker, date an object, authenticate origin, value a doll or decode ambiguous calligraphy from an image.
USE AND RIGHTS BOUNDARY
Translation: Atlas English is contextual paraphrase unless a source explicitly supplies English.
Identification: no image is uploaded, stored or analyzed. This reader does not authenticate, date, value or attribute an object.
Reproduction: a generic phrase does not automatically grant rights to reproduce an artisan's exact brushwork, composition, logo or protected product design.