How to Make a Wish with a Daruma: Eye-Painting Guide

A daruma with two blank white eyes is waiting for you to finish it. You paint one eye when you make a wish and the other only when that wish comes true.

A daruma is a round red doll, weighted so that it rights itself when knocked over, whose eyes you paint in to mark a wish. Whether you bought one for yourself or received one as a gift, the practice is simple, and it has been part of Japanese life for centuries.

I am a daruma maker at Shirakawa Daruma Sohonpo, a 14th-generation daruma workshop in Shirakawa, Fukushima. This guide covers which eye to paint first, when to paint the second, what to do with your daruma afterward, and what to do if the wish does not come true.

What Are the Steps to Make a Wish with a Daruma?

Here is the short version:

1. Set a wish or goal. Choose something specific.
2. Paint the first eye while you hold the wish in mind.
3. Display the daruma where you will see it every day.
4. Work toward your goal. The daruma keeps it in front of you.
5. When the wish comes true, paint the second eye.
6. Around the following New Year, return the daruma to a temple or shrine to be burned with thanks.

Each step has a few details worth knowing, starting with the daruma itself.

Step 1: Which Daruma Should You Choose?

The classic choice is the red daruma. Red is linked to protection from illness and to the robes of Buddhist monks, and it suits almost any wish. Other colors are often matched to particular goals. These associations are loose, modern conventions that vary by region and maker, so treat them as suggestions rather than rules.

Color	Commonly associated with	Often chosen for
Red	Protection, good fortune	General wishes, the new year
White	Purity, a fresh start	New projects, new chapters
Gold / yellow	Prosperity	Business, money goals
Green	Health, growth	Recovery, wellness
Blue	Learning, calm	Studies, exams
Pink	Love, relationships	Romance, marriage
Black	Protection from misfortune	Safety, big transitions
Purple	Dignity, long life	Personal growth, honoring elders

If your wish does not point to a particular color, choose red, or choose the one you like looking at. You will see it every day. Our Traditional DARUMA is a good place to start. If you want a blank canvas, the white daruma for painting yourself is made for that.

Once it is on your table, the next question is the one people ask most.

Step 2: Which Eye Do You Paint First?

Conventions differ. A common one is to paint the eye on your left as you face the daruma, which is the daruma's own right eye. Some regions and makers do the opposite. Choose one, and paint the second eye on the other side when the time comes.

How to paint the eye

• A brush and sumi, the traditional Japanese black ink, are the classic tools.
• A black permanent marker works well too.
• Fill the white eye space completely with solid black, rather than leaving a ring or a dot.

What to think while painting

Take a moment before you begin. Hold your wish clearly in mind, or say it aloud, and picture what it will look like when it comes true. Then paint the eye.

Some people also write the wish on a small slip of paper and keep it near the daruma. Others keep it to themselves. Either is fine.

Step 3: Where Should You Display Your Daruma?

Put your daruma where you will see it every day:

• A household shrine shelf (kamidana), if you have one
• The entryway, where you pass it coming and going
• Your desk, for work or study goals
• The living room, for wishes shared by the family

Avoid putting it away in a drawer. A daruma only works as a reminder if it is in sight. And what it reminds you of is the hard part.

Step 4: What Do You Do While You Wait?

The daruma does not do the work for you. Between the first eye and the second, you have to act toward your goal.

The one-eyed face is a daily reminder of that commitment. A goal you glance at every morning is far more likely to stay in your mind than one you announced once on New Year's Eve and forgot by February.

The daruma is weighted so that it rights itself when knocked over, which is often linked with the proverb nanakorobi yaoki, "fall seven times, get up eight."

Step 5: When Do You Paint the Second Eye?

When your wish comes true. You passed the exam, got the job, finished the project, or someone you love recovered.

• Take a moment, just as you did with the first eye.
• Say thank you. Thank the daruma if you like, and thank yourself for following through.
• Fill in the second eye the same way as the first.

With both eyes open, the daruma has done its work. One last step remains.

Step 6: What Do You Do with the Daruma Afterward?

Traditionally, a daruma is returned after about a year. Many people bring it to a temple or shrine around New Year, often in time for the mid-January fire festivals known as dondo-yaki in many regions. Temples also hold a rite called daruma kuyo, in which old daruma are burned with thanks. Customs and names vary from place to place, so ask at your local temple or shrine what they accept.

Burning is understood as a way of closing the wish with gratitude, instead of simply discarding an object that carried a year of hope.

If you live outside Japan

You do not need to send your daruma back to Japan. Some options:

• Keep it on display as a reminder of what you achieved.
• Ask a nearby Buddhist temple whether they accept old amulets and daruma.
• If you must let it go, wrap it in clean paper with a word of thanks, as is sometimes done in Japan when a temple is out of reach.
• If you would like help returning it to a shrine, contact us and we can arrange return-to-shrine service.

What If the Wish Didn't Come True?

Sometimes wishes do not come true, or not in the way you pictured. Practice varies. Many people return the daruma at year's end with the second eye still blank. Others keep it for another year, or paint the second eye anyway as a way of accepting the journey.

My own view as a 14th-generation maker is to look back honestly:

• Did I act on the wish? If not, the daruma was a mirror.
• Was it the right wish? Sometimes we learn what we want by chasing something else.
• Do I still want it? If so, start again with a new daruma. If not, let it go.

The proverb most often linked with the daruma is nanakorobi yaoki (七転び八起き): fall seven times, get up eight. An unfulfilled wish is not a failure. It is a standing up.

Key takeaways

• You paint the first daruma eye when you make a wish and the second eye only when the wish comes true.
• Which eye comes first varies by region and maker; one common convention is the eye on your left as you face the daruma.
• Red is the classic daruma color and suits almost any wish; other color meanings are loose, modern conventions.
• Traditionally a daruma is returned after about a year, around New Year, to a temple or shrine to be burned with thanks.
• A daruma is weighted to right itself when knocked over, often linked with the proverb nanakorobi yaoki, "fall seven times, get up eight."

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make more than one wish on a daruma?

Traditionally it is one daruma, one wish, because a single focus is easier to keep. Closely related wishes, such as good health for the whole family, are fine together.

Can my family share a daruma?

Yes. A family daruma with a shared wish is a lovely custom. You might take turns painting the first eye, or let the youngest member do it.

What if I am not religious?

You do not need to be. A daruma works as a visible, daily reminder of a commitment, and many people in Japan keep one without any strong religious belief.

When is the best time to start?

New Year is traditional. Birthdays, big life changes and the first day of a project all work well, and so does today. Our Birthday DARUMA is made for exactly that kind of start.

Can I give a daruma as a gift?

Yes. It is a lovely way to say that you are hoping for someone. The recipient paints the eyes, because the wish is theirs. For weddings, see our wedding daruma pair.

A Final Thought

In our workshop in Shirakawa, we paint hundreds of darumas every week. Each one is a small vessel, waiting to carry someone's hope.

When you paint that first eye, you join a tradition that is centuries old in our town, and older still in Japan as a whole. You are telling yourself that this matters, that you commit, and that you will act. From there, the work is yours.

Choose the daruma for your wish →

Questions about daruma tradition, colors or gift-giving? Contact us and we will help you find the right daruma.

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