Goto Himedaruma Kobo | travel taketa

photo(c) takashi kubo
himedaruma(c)Goto-himedaruma-kobo

Daruma is a paper mache folkcraft seen throughout the nation. It was originally a lucky charm made in the image of Saint Dharma, the old Indian monk. This daruma , however, is female, a rare variation of this traditional craft. The model for this daruma was wife of a samurai that lived some 370 years ago. The smile on her face seems to change subtly each time we see it.

The hime-daruma (female daruma) was once almost lost to time, but this atelier has kept the tradition alive. There are 16 steps in the creation of thedaruma, from creating the wooden block that gives the daruma its shape to the final step of painting the features. Each daruma takes about a week to make, and the care required to create each piece inspires admiration that has made the hime-daruma popular again as a lucky charm.

「だるま」は日本全国にある張り子の民芸品。元々昔の僧侶である「達磨大師」を模した縁起物ですが、ここ竹田に伝わるのは、とても珍しい女性のだるまです。

３７０年ほど前に実在した武士の妻がモデルとされていて、微かに笑みを浮かべるその顔は、見るたびに違う表情を見せてくれるようでとても印象的です。

一時は消滅の危機にあったこの姫だるまですが、現在この工房ただ一軒のみが伝統を守っています。木型作りから絵付けまで１６の工程があり、１体を仕上げるのに約１週間かかるという丁寧な仕事に魅せられる人が多く、今では再び貴重な縁起物として人気を博しています。　