Figure Daruma Figure Made of Bizen Ware with Stern Expression

Like many depictions with a stern, combative expression, this Bizen ware figure shows the Zen patriarch Bodhidharma, called Daruma in Japan, with knitted brows, deeply downturned corners of the mouth and a fixed, straight-ahead gaze. The expression appears serious and intense, as if the figure were wholly absorbed in unwavering meditation.

The surface bears the reddish-brown coloring typical of Bizen ware, which develops during firing in the wood-fired kiln entirely without glaze. Each figure thereby acquires its own, distinctive color nuance, depending on its position in the kiln, the course of the flames, and ash deposition. The bushy eyebrows and the characteristic shape of the head are nevertheless clearly recognizable as Daruma.

As the founder of Zen Buddhism and a symbol of perseverance and meditation, Daruma is one of the most popular figures of Japanese folk art. With its serious, intense expression, this figure embodies the unbending determination for which Daruma stands to this day.