Takasaki Daruma
高崎だるま · Takasaki
A rounded lucky daruma whose eyebrows evoke cranes and whose moustache evokes turtles.
INTERPRETIVE 3D · PBR · Rounded and full-bodiedMore
REGIONAL ATLAS · BATCH 02
Fifteen Daruma types, shown from every side.
Daruma dolls differ by region in silhouette, material, face, decoration and eye custom. Use the atlas to identify those differences—not to force every object into one generic red-doll template.
15 interactiveInterpretive studiesSources audited 28 August 2026
DIRECT ANSWER · REGIONAL TYPES
How many types of Daruma dolls are there?
This atlas documents 15 regional forms—not a final national count. Japan's Daruma field includes local names, workshop variation, revivals and related self-righting folk objects. Atlas files stay limited to forms with a traceable place and evidence trail.
Use five shared clues—place, material, silhouette, face and eyes—before treating two objects as the same type. Colour alone is not enough.
FIND A REGIONAL FORM
Travel north to south—or search by place.
15 of 15 objects shown
INTERPRETIVE 3D · PBR · Rounded and full-bodied
INTERPRETIVE 3D · PBR · Rounded, with a gentle faceShirakawa Daruma
白河だるま · Shirakawa
A rounded, gentle-faced form whose painted face combines crane, turtle, pine, bamboo and plum motifs.
INTERPRETIVE 3D · PBR · Tall northern profileMatsukawa Daruma
松川だるま · Sendai
A Sendai papier-mâché daruma with blue around the face and raised decorative appliqué on the body.
INTERPRETIVE 3D · PBR · Tall with a flat crownMiharu Daruma
三春だるま · Miharu
A tall northeastern form with a flat crown, already-painted eyes, long brows and a vivid indigo face outline.
INTERPRETIVE 3D · PBR · Balanced Kanto profileKoshigaya Daruma
越谷だるま · Koshigaya
A pale-complexioned Kanto form known for a slightly higher nose and a refined, gentle expression.
INTERPRETIVE 3D · PBR · Soft, rounded profileSuzukawa Daruma
鈴川だるま · Fuji
A gentle local form with restrained facial hair, closely tied to Fuji's Bishamonten Daruma Market.
INTERPRETIVE 3D · PBR · Rounded female okiagari formHime Daruma
姫だるま · Taketa
A female daruma with narrow eyes, a small red mouth and layered red robes carrying pine, bamboo and plum motifs.
INTERPRETIVE 3D · PBR · Compact rounded profileMatsumoto Daruma
松本だるま · Matsumoto
A warm-faced Shinshu form whose eyebrows and beard are built from dyed hemp fibres rather than brushwork alone.
INTERPRETIVE 3D · PBR · Tall and compactMihara Daruma
三原だるま · Mihara
A tall, fist-sized form with a bean-pattern headband, wide-open eyes and a small sound inside.
INTERPRETIVE 3D · PBR · Triangular and sharply taperedSankaku Daruma
三角だるま · Agano
A pointed Echigo daruma whose triangular body and humorous expression break the familiar round silhouette.
INTERPRETIVE 3D · PBR · Rounded white body with belly figureKoshu Oyako Daruma
甲州親子だるま · Kofu
A white parent daruma with a smaller bearded child embedded visibly in its belly.
INTERPRETIVE 3D · PBR · Slender, upright and asymmetricalUtoubori Daruma
善知鳥彫だるま · Aomori
A slender, deep-crimson daruma carved directly from split wood, appearing to rise from meditation.
INTERPRETIVE 3D · PBR · Rounded Tama workshop familyTama Daruma
多摩だるま · Mizuho
A handmade western-Tokyo daruma tradition whose faces and proportions visibly vary from workshop to workshop.
INTERPRETIVE 3D · PBR · Rounded with close-detail emphasisSoshu Daruma
相州だるま · Hiratsuka
A fine-haired Kanagawa form with ornate gold patterning and distinctive gold treatment around the eyes.
INTERPRETIVE 3D · PBR · Rounded historic formFujieda Daruma
藤枝だるま · Fujieda
A revived Shizuoka tradition remembered for strong figure-eight sideburns on the historic local daruma face.
DARUMA FACE MEANING · REGIONAL MAP
Why does a Daruma face look angry?
Short answer: it is not necessarily an angry face. On the two source-documented regional forms compared here, bold brows and facial hair carry auspicious motifs: Takasaki foregrounds the crane and turtle; Shirakawa maps five motifs across distinct facial zones. Expression still varies by artisan and region.
If “Daruma doll head” means a painted head sitting on separate coloured blocks, that is Daruma Otoshi, a wooden skill game—not the face or detachable head of a wishing Daruma.
This location diagram is an evidence reader—not an artisan pattern, tracing sheet, authentication tool or licence to reproduce workshop-specific brushwork.
高崎だるま
Takasaki Daruma
The face is not generic decoration: Takasaki City identifies crane-shaped eyebrows and a turtle-like beard, with gold wish lettering beside the face.
Crane
The thick eyebrows evoke cranes. The official English guide pairs the crane with longevity symbolism.
Drawing boundary: Study the crane-like sweep without copying a named workshop's exact brush signature.
Profile boundary: These are regional motifs, not one fixed drawing template. Takasaki faces are hand-painted, so line weight, cheek color and expression vary by artisan.
ALL TEN SOURCE-BOUNDED READINGS
Two faces, ten checks.
The map is interactive. This complete comparison remains available without script.
| Region | Face zone | Documented motif | What the source supports | Do not assume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Takasaki DarumaTakasaki, Gunma | Blank pupils | A wish in progress | Takasaki City gives one local sequence: facing the doll, fill the pupil on your right while making the wish, then the other after a safe year or fulfillment. | Do not turn this Takasaki example into a national rule; other regional types can arrive with both eyes painted. |
| Takasaki DarumaTakasaki, Gunma | Eyebrows | Crane | The thick eyebrows evoke cranes. The official English guide pairs the crane with longevity symbolism. | Study the crane-like sweep without copying a named workshop's exact brush signature. |
| Takasaki DarumaTakasaki, Gunma | Moustache and beard | Turtle | The facial hair evokes a turtle, paired with the crane as an auspicious longevity motif. | The source supports the motif—not one universal curl count, spacing or stroke order. |
| Takasaki DarumaTakasaki, Gunma | Gold writing beside the face | The owner's wish | Takasaki City identifies gold writing on both shoulders for wishes such as business prosperity, household safety or goal achievement. | Do not reproduce workshop-specific calligraphy, names or maker marks without permission. |
| Takasaki DarumaTakasaki, Gunma | The whole expression | Hand-painted variation | The regional vocabulary is shared, but the finished face still carries the individual artisan's line weight and expression. | Use this map to read categories. It cannot identify a maker or authenticate an object from appearance alone. |
| Shirakawa DarumaShirakawa, Fukushima | Eyebrows | Crane | Shirakawa City identifies the eyebrows as the crane element in the face-wide auspicious composition. | The map names the motif location, not an exact wing shape or workshop stroke. |
| Shirakawa DarumaShirakawa, Fukushima | Beard | Turtle | The beard supplies the turtle element in Shirakawa's crane-turtle-pine-bamboo-plum set. | Do not infer maker, age or authenticity from a turtle-like curl alone. |
| Shirakawa DarumaShirakawa, Fukushima | Chin beard | Pine + bamboo | The municipal description places both pine and bamboo in the chin-beard treatment. | The source supports the paired motif location, not a reusable line pattern. |
| Shirakawa DarumaShirakawa, Fukushima | Sideburns | Pine + plum | Shirakawa City places pine and plum in the sideburn treatment around the face. | Treat this as an observation key; exact spacing and brush rhythm remain artisan work. |
| Shirakawa DarumaShirakawa, Fukushima | The whole face | Crane · turtle · pine · bamboo · plum | The five motifs work as one auspicious face composition, and the city names the Watanabe and Sagawa families as continuing bearers of the skill. | A five-motif resemblance is still not object-level provenance or permission to copy a family's design. |
- TEST 01
Does one prefecture mean one Daruma style?
Fukushima alone says no.Shirakawa and Miharu share a prefecture, yet their recorded silhouettes, expressions and eye treatments diverge. Place is evidence—not a shortcut to one universal design.
Continue with the normalized comparisonFILE 002Shirakawa Daruma
Shirakawa, Fukushima
- Recorded silhouette
- Rounded, with a gentle face
FILE 004Miharu Daruma
Miharu, Fukushima
- Recorded silhouette
- Tall with a flat crown
- TEST 02
Are papier-mâché Daruma always round?
The shell can change the whole outline.Takasaki is rounded and full-bodied. Echigo Sankaku Daruma is sharply triangular. Both sit inside the paper-craft field without sharing one body template.
Continue with the normalized comparisonFILE 001Takasaki Daruma
Takasaki, Gunma
- Recorded silhouette
- Rounded and full-bodied
FILE 010Sankaku Daruma
Agano, Niigata
- Recorded silhouette
- Triangular and sharply tapered
- TEST 03
Do all Daruma begin with blank eyes?
Eye practice changes by tradition.The familiar Takasaki wish ritual uses blank pupils. Matsukawa Daruma is documented with painted eyes. The atlas keeps those practices separate instead of teaching one national rule.
Continue with the normalized comparisonFILE 001Takasaki Daruma
Takasaki, Gunma
- Recorded eye treatment
- Blank until a wish is made
FILE 003Matsukawa Daruma
Sendai, Miyagi
- Recorded eye treatment
- Traditionally painted eyes
- TEST 04
Is a Daruma always a paper shell?
Material can redefine the object.Takasaki uses painted papier-mâché. Aomori's Utōbori tradition is carved from split wood, with an upright, asymmetric profile that a front-only red-doll guide can miss.
Continue with the normalized comparisonFILE 001Takasaki Daruma
Takasaki, Gunma
- Recorded material
- Painted papier-mâché
FILE 012Utoubori Daruma
Aomori, Aomori
- Recorded material
- Split wood carved with a single knife tradition
- TEST 05
Does every Daruma repeat one face?
The figure can carry a different identity.Takasaki carries crane-and-turtle facial motifs. Taketa Hime Daruma is documented with a female face and layered robes. Regional identity reaches beyond decoration.
Continue with the normalized comparisonFILE 001Takasaki Daruma
Takasaki, Gunma
- Recorded face treatment
- Crane + turtle
FILE 007Hime Daruma
Taketa, Oita
- Recorded face treatment
- Narrow eyes + small red mouth + layered robe
- TEST 06
Do Matsukawa and Matsumoto name the same fibre-haired Daruma?
One similar name can swap the whole evidence trail.Matsukawa Daruma is the blue-framed Sendai form with raised body ornament. Matsumoto Daruma is the Nagano form with black-dyed hemp eyebrows and beard. Keep the place and material together.
Continue with the normalized comparisonFILE 003Matsukawa Daruma
Sendai, Miyagi
- Recorded material
- Painted papier-mâché + raised appliqué
FILE 008Matsumoto Daruma
Matsumoto, Nagano
- Recorded material
- Painted papier-mâché + dyed hemp fibre
15-REGION EVIDENCE MATRIX
Scan every regional file before opening the model.
One row per source-mapped atlas record. Read the shared fields side by side, open the claim-level evidence, or send any row into the same three-object comparison.
- Regional files
- 15
- Shared fields
- 5
- Mapped observations
- 45
Scroll horizontally to compare every field. Each row remains one complete regional record.
| File | Regional type | Place | Material | Silhouette | Face | Eyes | Evidence | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | Takasaki Daruma高崎だるま | Takasaki, Gunma | Painted papier-mâché | Rounded and full-bodied | Crane + turtle | Blank until a wish is made | Open file | Compare |
| 002 | Shirakawa Daruma白河だるま | Shirakawa, Fukushima | Painted papier-mâché | Rounded, with a gentle face | Crane, turtle, pine, bamboo + plum | Commonly sold with blank pupils today | Open file | Compare |
| 003 | Matsukawa Daruma松川だるま | Sendai, Miyagi | Painted papier-mâché + raised appliqué | Tall northern profile | Blue surround + applied ornament | Traditionally painted eyes | Open file | Compare |
| 004 | Miharu Daruma三春だるま | Miharu, Fukushima | Painted papier-mâché | Tall with a flat crown | Long brows + dense beard + indigo outline | Both eyes painted from the start | Open file | Compare |
| 005 | Koshigaya Daruma越谷だるま | Koshigaya, Saitama | Painted papier-mâché | Balanced Kanto profile | Pale complexion + slightly raised nose | Blank pupils for the wish ritual | Open file | Compare |
| 006 | Suzukawa Daruma鈴川だるま | Fuji, Shizuoka | Painted papier-mâché | Soft, rounded profile | Restrained beard + calm expression | Blank pupils; local order varies by year | Open file | Compare |
| 007 | Hime Daruma姫だるま | Taketa, Oita | Painted papier-mâché with weighted base | Rounded female okiagari form | Narrow eyes + small red mouth + layered robe | Eyes fully painted | Open file | Compare |
| 008 | Matsumoto Daruma松本だるま | Matsumoto, Nagano | Painted papier-mâché + dyed hemp fibre | Compact rounded profile | Warm complexion + applied fibre brows and beard | Fully painted | Open file | Compare |
| 009 | Mihara Daruma三原だるま | Mihara, Hiroshima | Painted papier-mâché with an internal bell or stone | Tall and compact | Bean-pattern headband + wide eyes | Both eyes painted from the start | Open file | Compare |
| 010 | Sankaku Daruma三角だるま | Agano, Niigata | Painted papier-mâché | Triangular and sharply tapered | Humorous expression + pointed crown | Fully painted | Open file | Compare |
| 011 | Koshu Oyako Daruma甲州親子だるま | Kofu, Yamanashi | Painted papier-mâché | Rounded white body with belly figure | Parent face + small bearded child | Parent eyes angled toward the viewer | Open file | Compare |
| 012 | Utoubori Daruma善知鳥彫だるま | Aomori, Aomori | Split wood carved with a single knife tradition | Slender, upright and asymmetrical | Forward gaze + deep-crimson robe | Fully carved and painted | Open file | Compare |
| 013 | Tama Daruma多摩だるま | Mizuho, Tokyo | Hand-painted papier-mâché | Rounded Tama workshop family | Balanced brows + workshop-to-workshop variation | Varies by maker; confirm the object | Open file | Compare |
| 014 | Soshu Daruma相州だるま | Hiratsuka, Kanagawa | Painted papier-mâché with gold decoration | Rounded with close-detail emphasis | Fine hair + ornate gold surround | Blank pupils; rare gold-eye variant documented | Open file | Compare |
| 015 | Fujieda Daruma藤枝だるま | Fujieda, Shizuoka | Painted papier-mâché | Rounded historic form | Figure-eight sideburns | Fully painted in the documented revival | Open file | Compare |
Reading boundary: these are source-bounded atlas descriptions, not physical measurements, authenticity verdicts or proof that every workshop uses one fixed design. Eye customs and painted details can vary by maker, date and use.
PUBLICATION GATE
What “source anchored” means here.
- 01Name the regional difference
Every file needs a municipal, museum, official tourism or continuing-maker source.
- 02Model only the supported distinction
Silhouette, colour zone or raised material may be shown; copied artisan marks and invented lettering are excluded.
- 03Turn and compare
Front, right, back, left and oblique views use a shared stage so differences remain visible.