Amabie Daruma: The Legend of Japan's Protective Spirit
According to a single woodblock print from 1846, a glowing, three-legged creature with a beak rose from the sea off Kumamoto and gave one instruction: if disease spreads, draw my likeness and show it to everyone. In the spring of 2020, people did exactly that.
Quick answer: The Amabie Daruma is a hand-painted daruma from Shirakawa, Fukushima, that combines the round daruma body with Amabie, the beaked, long-haired sea spirit from an 1846 woodblock print. Amabie is a folk spirit associated with protection from illness. It comes in green, pink or purple, in two sizes.
In 2020, a strange sea creature from 19th-century Japan suddenly appeared everywhere: on social media, hand-drawn on shop windows, printed on masks, and in a public-health awareness campaign run by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Her name is Amabie (アマビエ), and people began sharing her print again when the world was anxious about illness.
At Shirakawa Daruma Sohonpo, a 14th-generation daruma workshop in Shirakawa, Fukushima, we have given this folk spirit a new form: the Amabie Daruma. It joins 300 years of daruma craftsmanship with one of Japan's best-loved protective yokai, the supernatural beings of Japanese folklore. A daruma is a round, hand-painted wish doll: you paint in one eye when you set a goal and the other when it comes true.
Where Does the Amabie Legend Come From?
The story begins in 1846, in the fourth month of the old lunar calendar (roughly April to May), on the coast of Higo Province (modern-day Kumamoto, Kyushu).
According to the account, a light was seen shining in the sea. When a local official went to investigate, a creature rose from the water. It had:
- A beak like a bird
- Long flowing hair
- Three legs
- A scaly, glowing body
The creature introduced herself as Amabie, a being who lives in the sea, and delivered a prophecy:
"A bountiful harvest will come for the next six years. But if disease should spread, draw my likeness and show it to everyone — and they will be saved."
Then she slipped back into the sea.
The encounter was recorded on a kawaraban, a woodblock-printed news sheet of the kind sold and passed around in Edo-period Japan. A copy is held today in the collection of Kyoto University: a single, faded image of a long-haired, beaked, mermaid-like figure, preserved since 1846. That could have been the end of her story. It was not.
Why Did Amabie Return in 2020?
For most of the time since, Amabie was a footnote, one of thousands of yokai in Japan's folklore. Then COVID-19 began to spread.
In early 2020, the image of Amabie and her promise to protect people from disease began circulating widely on Japanese social media. Artists drew their own versions, and the hashtag #amabie spread quickly. Bakeries and sweet shops made Amabie-shaped treats. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare used her image in a public-awareness campaign.
Amabie did not cure anything, and nobody believed she did. What she offered was something people could share, a small act of care when no one knew what to do. That is the kind of thing a daruma has always been for.
What Is the Amabie Daruma?
Daruma have always given physical form to ordinary people's hopes. When Amabie became a symbol of hope, bringing her into that tradition was the obvious next step.
Our Amabie Daruma combines:
- The traditional rounded daruma body, a symbol of perseverance and of rising up after falling
- Amabie's distinctive features: long hair, a gentle beak, scale patterns
- Hand-painting by master craftsmen, so each one is unique
- Auspicious colors: green for vitality, pink for kindness, purple for wisdom
Each one is both:
- A daruma, so you can make a wish on it (paint in one eye when you set your goal, and the other when it comes true)
- An Amabie, a folk charm associated with protection from illness
So which one should you choose?
How Do I Choose the Right Amabie Daruma?
Our Amabie Daruma comes in three colors and two sizes, each with its own meaning.
Colors
Green Amabie: health and vitality. Green in Japan is linked to growth, recovery and life-force. It suits:
- Someone recovering from illness
- A new parent
- A thank-you gift for a nurse, doctor or caregiver
- Yourself, when you want to commit to looking after your wellbeing
Pink Amabie: kindness and love. Pink stands for warmth, compassion and soft strength. It suits:
- A partner or spouse
- A close friend going through a hard time
- Family members you want to look after
- A spring wedding gift
Purple Amabie: wisdom and spiritual protection. Purple has long been associated in Japan with the highest court ranks. It suits:
- A teacher or mentor
- An elderly parent
- Someone you deeply respect
- Yourself, when you face an important decision
Sizes
- Medium (M): 10cm, 180g. A substantial presence on a shelf or altar.
- Small (S): 7cm, 75g. Right for a desk, a car dashboard, or a travel companion.
Once you have picked a color and size, the real work is the wish.
How Do I Use My Amabie Daruma?
- Choose your color according to what you most want to cultivate in your life.
- Decide on a wish or intention. It can be specific ("may my mother recover from her illness") or general ("may my family stay healthy this year").
- Paint in the first eye with a black marker or brush. Customs differ by region and by teacher about which eye comes first. Many people start with the daruma's left eye (on your right as you face it), but there is no single correct side. Choose one and stay with it.
- Display it where you will see it often. The entryway, the kitchen, a desk or a family altar all work.
- Speak to it now and then. It is a simple way to renew your intention.
- When your wish is fulfilled, paint in the other eye with gratitude.
Traditionally, a daruma that has done its work is returned to a temple at the turn of the year to be ceremonially burned (daruma kuyō), and a new one takes its place.
What Does the Amabie Daruma Really Mean?
The Amabie story is not about literal protection from disease. It is about what happens when a community gathers around a symbol of care, and the same idea sits at the heart of the daruma tradition.
When you display an Amabie Daruma, you are doing what people did when they copied and shared her picture: saying, quietly but clearly, "I am thinking of those I love. I am hoping for their wellbeing."
Each time you pass it, it reminds you of the people and values you most cherish. And it begins with the hands that paint it.
Where Is the Amabie Daruma Made, and Does It Ship Worldwide?
Every Amabie Daruma in our shop is:
- Handmade in Shirakawa, Fukushima, a town that has worked to rebuild since the 2011 earthquake
- Individually hand-painted, so no two are alike
- Carefully packaged for international shipping
- Accompanied by a card explaining the Amabie legend in English
When you buy from us, you help keep a 300-year craft going in Fukushima and keep Japanese artisans at work.
Key takeaways
- Amabie first appears on a kawaraban, a woodblock-printed news sheet from 1846, and a copy is held in the collection of Kyoto University.
- According to the account, Amabie rose from the sea off Higo Province (modern-day Kumamoto), promised six years of bountiful harvest, and told people to draw her likeness and show it to everyone if disease spread.
- The Amabie Daruma comes in green for health and vitality, pink for kindness and love, and purple for wisdom and spiritual protection.
- It is sold in two sizes: Medium at 10cm and 180g, and Small at 7cm and 75g.
- Each Amabie Daruma is individually hand-painted in Shirakawa, Fukushima, and arrives with a card explaining the Amabie legend in English.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Amabie Daruma cure or prevent illness?
No. Amabie did not cure anything, and nobody believed she did. She is a folk charm associated with protection from illness, and displaying her is a small act of care for the people you love.
Which eye do I paint first on an Amabie Daruma?
Customs differ by region and by teacher. Many people start with the daruma's left eye (on your right as you face it), but there is no single correct side. Paint in the other eye when your wish is fulfilled.
What colors and sizes does the Amabie Daruma come in?
It comes in green, pink and purple. The Medium (M) is 10cm and 180g, and the Small (S) is 7cm and 75g.
Have a question about the Amabie legend, daruma tradition, or choosing the right color? Contact us and we will be glad to help.
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Written by the team at Shirakawa Daruma Sohonpo, hand-painting daruma in Shirakawa, Fukushima for 14 generations.