Old Daruma Dolls Burned in Purification Rite in Central Japan City; JR Shinetsu Line Will Get New Stop There Called Toyooka Daruma Station

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:22 JST, January 23, 2025

TAKASAKI, Gunma — About 10,000 old Japanese daruma dolls were ritually burned during a memorial service for the good-luck talisman figures, which represent the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma, in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, on Wednesday.

The service was conducted by the prefecture’s Gunma Daruma Doll Manufacturers’ Cooperative Union. The manufacturers collected the dolls from Takasaki residents during the Takasaki Darumaichi market, held there on Jan. 1 and 2.

During the ritual, the dolls were burned as priests chanted sutras, and members of the cooperative union prayed for prosperity in business and world peace.

Furthermore, JR Shinetsu Line will have a new station in the city, which has been named Toyooka Daruma Station. The station will open in fiscal 2026.

“Sales of daruma dolls are growing higher and higher every year,” said Masahiro Yoshida, the chairperson of the cooperative union. “I hope people will continue to live with these dolls for a long time.”