Purchase Auspicious Daruma Dolls During Your New Year Shrine Visit Azusami Tenjinsha 「Daruma Market」
Event Period:January 1
Venue:Tachikawa City
Located about a 15-minute bus ride from Tachikawa Station, Azusami Tenjinsha stands directly in front of the Sunagawa Yonban bus stop. Every New Year’s Day, a daruma market is held here, drawing local residents for their first shrine visit of the year. Deeply rooted in the community, this shrine is a familiar place of worship. Here, we introduce the Azusami Tenjinsha Daruma Market, a perfect destination for Hatsumōde. Read more.
The Origin and Meaning of Daruma
The origin of daruma dolls traces back to Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen Buddhism who transmitted Buddhism from India to China. According to legend, Bodhidharma practiced seated meditation for nine years, during which his arms and legs withered away. This story is said to have inspired the round, limbless daruma figure with its large face.
In Japan, around the Edo period, the custom emerged of painting in one pupil when making a wish and filling in the other when the wish was fulfilled. Daruma thus spread as a symbol of good fortune. Traditionally, daruma were made by farmers as off-season work, and their shapes, colors, and materials varied widely. Over time, the custom of purchasing daruma at local daruma markets took root across the country.
Famous examples include the Takasaki Daruma of Takasaki City in Gunma Prefecture, the Matsukawa Daruma of Sendai City in Miyagi Prefecture, and the Koshigaya Daruma of Koshigaya City in Saitama Prefecture. Daruma are commonly red, said to reflect the red robes worn by Bodhidharma. When a daruma has fulfilled its role, it is customary to return it to a temple or shrine with gratitude, where it is ceremonially burned.
What Is the Azusami Tenjinsha Daruma Market?
When asked about when the daruma market at Azusami Tenjinsha began, shrine staff explain that in the past, farmers made daruma as a side job during the agricultural off-season and sold them at the shrine during the New Year. While this is believed to be the origin, the exact date remains unknown.
The enshrined deities at Azusami Tenjinsha are Sukunahikona-no-Mikoto, widely revered as a god of medicine, and Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mikoto, the deity of literature and the arts. Within the grounds, Tachikawa Suitengū is also enshrined and is known as a guardian deity for safe childbirth and childrearing. Another auxiliary shrine, Kokage Shrine, venerates cats as protective spirits for silkworms, guarding them from their natural enemy, mice. Named by jazz pianist Yosuke Yamashita, it is also affectionately known as the Cat-Returning Shrine.
On the day of the daruma market, stalls line the shrine grounds. One of the pleasures of the market is comparing the unique facial expressions of each daruma and chatting with the vendors about prices, naturally giving rise to lively conversations. At Azusami Tenjinsha, the exchange of cheerful voices and smiles from the very start of the year has become a familiar New Year’s Day tradition.
| Event Period | January 1 |
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| Address | 4-1-1 Sunagawa-cho, Tachikawa City, Tokyo |
| Website | |
| Access | From JR Tachikawa Station, take Tachikawa Bus bound for Mitsufuji or Hakonegasaki Station and get off at Sunagawa Yonban, or a 12-minute walk from Musashi-Sunagawa Station on the Seibu Haijima Line |
| Discover more about the Tama region | https://at-tama.tokyo/lang_en/ Photos courtesy of Takako Shigegaki |
