Sendai Papier-mâché reversed

Handsome looking blue daruma doll, cute sparrow and expressive mask…these are the varieties of heart-warming Sendai papier-mâché. It is said that a low-ranked samurai warrior started this as his side job.
The representative of Sendai papier-mâché is Matsukawa daruma, well known today as the blue daruma doll. The difference between Matsukawa daruma and other darumas are the blue body color and big dark brown eyes. Regular daruma dolls have a red body and its eyes are blank, but Matsukawa daruma dolls have big eyes to see all directions for protecting family. It has the blue ultramarine color lining the face and a painting of a treasure boat and god of wealth on its stomach.
Matsukawa daruma has been popular as a New Year good luck charm for a long time. People often buy Matsukawa daruma at a stand when they visit a shrine for the first time in the year and pray for sound health and a peaceful household.
Lately, Matsukawa daruma has gotten more popular all over Japan as a cute local art craft. Even though time and public tastes change, Matsukawa daruma will never change and will continue to watch over the family with its big eyes.