Even though foreign spectators have largely been barred from the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, a traditional craftsman Fukushima Prefecture is hoping the global sporting events will help showcase a locally produced, centuries-old popular good-luck doll to a broader, international audience.
"My goal is to increase the number of people who love daruma dolls and I hope my products will provide opportunities for people around the world to become fans of Japan," Takaaki Watanabe, the 14th-generation member of a craftsman family with some three centuries of history, said in a recent interview.
Found throughout Japan, the bulbous daruma doll is modeled after the founder of Zen Buddhism and cherished as a lucky charm. The ones made in the city of Shirakawa are considered distinctive as they feature multiple symbols of good fortune.