What is Daruma?
Do you even know what “daruma” is?
Daruma (from Japanese – だるま or 達磨) is a japanese traditional weeble-wobble doll, which represents Bodhidharma. He was a Buddhist monk who lived in the 5th or 6th century. He is thought of to be the founder of the Chan/Zen tradition of Buddhism. There is Chinese legend that he is the first to start the physical training of the Shaolin Monastery’s monks. It also resulted in the creation of Shaolin kungfu.
Daruma is believed to bring good luck and happiness. Daruma doll comes with the blank white eyes. According to the annual traditional ritual, the owner of daruma doll selects a goal or a wish and draws a pupil in one eye in the beginning of the year. It’s usual practice to draw the name of the owner on the daruma’s chin.
When the goal is achieved, a pupil is drawn in the second eye. If the goal is not achieved by the end of the year, the daruma doll is burned or brought to the temple. Then the owner buys another daruma doll.
Why do they name an aggressive inline skate video after Daruma?
You can see how much courage these guys have, always smiling and lucky to have their mind and spirit at the level, where they can perform clean and creative tricks in the street. So, it is very symbolic and just another way to introduce japanese traditions to the world.
The list of skaters from Them Skates Daruma video edit:
- Soichiro Kanashima
- Chihiro Azuma
- Toru Shirai
- Eiji Sakihara
- Koichi Iguchi
- Shintaro Nakayama
P.S. – everyone is cool in this video. But it’s even cooler to watch Chihiro (skater of the year 2019 under the version of Be-Mag) skating the street locations.
