DARUMASee the daruma — $79What's a daruma?
A daruma is a Japanese object made to hold a goal. The round body is weighted at the base — knock it over and it stands back up. Japanese has a phrase for it — nanakorobi yaoki: fall seven times, get up eight. However many times you're knocked down, you get up once more.
How to use your daruma
01One daruma, one goal.
02On the day you commit, color it in — any brush or marker works.
03On the day you reach it, fill in the other.
In Japan, students cramming for entrance exams do this. So do office workers, founders, and politicians.
The reason is simple: a daruma with one eye blank puts not finished yet in your line of sight, every day. You can't dismiss it like a notification, can't close it like an app. It just stays on the desk.
A 2016 meta-analysis of 138 studies found that monitoring progress toward a goal makes people more likely to reach it — and that the effect was stronger when progress was physically recorded.¹ The daruma knew first.
¹ Harkin, B., et al. (2016). Psychological Bulletin, 142(2), 198–229.
Made in Takasaki
Takasaki, Gunma — Japan's main center for papier-mâché daruma.
Layered paper, painted vermilion, the face drawn with a brush.
Plenty of daruma are molded from plastic or resin. Ours isn't. It's papier-mâché — layers of paper built up in the workshop, light in the hand and hollow inside. Every face is painted by hand, so no two are quite the same.
Yours
Pick one goal today.
Daruma Keeper — a red papier-mâché daruma, finished at a workshop in Takasaki.
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For yourself —
For someone starting a serious challenge — a way to say "I'm with you to the end."
For a new pursuit, a new job, a new first step.
Put the wish into one eye, and keep it near until the day it's done.
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Before you buy
A hollow, rounded figure built up from layers of paper. Tradition holds it depicts Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen. In Japan it marks the moment you commit to a goal: one eye filled in the day you decide, the other the day you achieve it. The work is yours to do — the daruma keeps watch in the meantime.
Most commonly, the eye on your right as you face it (the daruma's left). The order varies by region and purpose, though — there's no single correct way.
Shipping is free and typically takes 10–14 days. Customs and import duties vary by country, so please contact us before ordering to confirm delivery and any charges.
It's made of paper and clay — light, with a hollow body. Unlike ceramic it won't shatter easily, but a hard impact can dent or damage it. If yours arrives damaged, or you'd like packing details, contact us after delivery.
Don't worry. Every daruma's eyes come out different — that's the point, and skill has nothing to do with it. If you're nervous, sketch lightly in pencil first, then fill it in bit by bit.
Returns are accepted within 30 days of delivery, unused and before the first eye is filled in. Email [email protected] to start a return; return shipping is at your cost. We issue the refund within 3 days of the item arriving back at Nitro Co., Ltd.
Through Stripe. Cards, PayPal, and more — available methods appear at checkout. The purchase button takes you to a secure payment page.
Starting today
The first eye: the day it arrives.
The other: the day it's done.
