Why the studio smells of shells — the gofun base coat

At Shirakawa Daruma Sohonpo, a 14th-generation daruma workshop in Shirakawa, Fukushima, the morning begins with a smell: shells, a little wood, then paper.
That smell is gofun, the white base coat beneath every daruma.
Here is the story of it, in about three minutes.

What is gofun?

Gofun is a white pigment made by grinding seashells into a fine powder. In traditional Japanese craft it is made from oyster shells, classically itabogaki (a flat oyster native to Japan), or from scallop shells. The shells are left to weather for years, then cleaned, crushed and ground until the powder is soft as flour.

For centuries, gofun has been the base coat under Japanese paintings, noh masks and hina dolls. It is also what lies under the red of a daruma, the round papier-mache doll our workshop paints by hand. So what does it actually do down there?

How do we use gofun on Shirakawa daruma?

A daruma body is made of layered washi (Japanese paper), so its surface has a faint roughness. Red paint applied directly to that surface sits unevenly, and the color looks flat and thin.

So first, we brush on gofun mixed with nikawa (animal-hide glue) as a base coat. This does three things:

• The surface becomes white and smooth.
• The vermilion on top glows, with a depth a flat primer does not give.
• The paper fibers are sealed, so the paint sits evenly and holds well.

The mixing happens first thing in the morning, and that is where the smell comes from.

Why does the studio smell of shells in the morning?

The raw material is shells. When the painters mix gofun in the morning, the studio smells faintly of the sea. That is the smell of a Shirakawa morning in Fukushima, before breakfast, before the day has really started.

It is not a chemical smell. Sea, wood and paper are all present in the room. Modern pigments could spare us the shells entirely, so why do we keep them?

Why do we still use gofun?

Modern synthetic pigments are generally cheaper, faster and more consistent. At Shirakawa Daruma Sohonpo, we still use gofun.

We believe the daruma that will still be on a shelf 100 or 200 years from now is the gofun daruma. In many traditional crafts, durability is valued as highly as how beautiful a piece looks on the day it is finished. Every Shirakawa daruma, from 1783 to today, wears its vermilion on a bed of gofun.

Does the eco-daruma use gofun too?

Yes. Our recent 100% paper-based eco-daruma also uses gofun as its base coat. Paper, glue, pigment: all natural materials. When its work is done, it can be returned to a temple and ceremonially burned, as daruma have long been.

The people of 1783 used these materials, and in 2026 we still use them. To us that is not a matter of being old-fashioned. The right answer simply has not changed. That is what I think every morning, breathing in the smell of the studio.

If you would like to see the red-over-white for yourself, look closely at the surface of our traditional daruma, hand-painted in Shirakawa.

Key takeaways

• Gofun is a white pigment made by grinding seashells, such as oyster or scallop, into a powder as soft as flour.
• The shells are left to weather for years, then cleaned, crushed and ground.
• Gofun mixed with nikawa (animal-hide glue) is brushed on as a base coat under the red of every Shirakawa daruma.
• The base coat makes the surface white and smooth, makes the vermilion glow, and seals the paper fibers.
• Every Shirakawa daruma, from 1783 to today, wears its vermilion on a bed of gofun, including the 100% paper-based eco-daruma.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is gofun made from?

Gofun is made from seashells, traditionally oyster shells such as itabogaki, or scallop shells. They are weathered for years, cleaned, crushed and ground into a fine powder.

Why is gofun used under the red paint of a daruma?

A daruma body is layered washi paper with a faintly rough surface, and red paint applied directly looks flat and thin. A gofun base makes the surface white and smooth, seals the paper fibers, and lets the vermilion glow.

Does the eco-daruma use gofun?

Yes. The 100% paper-based eco-daruma also uses gofun as its base coat. Its materials are all natural, so it can be returned to a temple and ceremonially burned.

Written by the team at Shirakawa Daruma Sohonpo, hand-painting daruma in Shirakawa, Fukushima for 14 generations.