Happy New Year.
It is an annual tradition among the Japanese to bring New Year's decorations and other stuff to the temple or shrine and say goodbye to them one or two weeks after the New Year's day. It is believed that Year God/Toshigami (年神) descends on houses where the entrance is decorated with pine trees and bamboo called Kadomatsu (門松). The Osechi cuisine (御節料理), a traditional food served in New Year's day, used to be the offering to Toshigami. After spending 7 to 10 days in the house, Year God returns to heaven. When the god is gone, New Year's decorations are stripped off but are not thrown in the trash bin. Instead, they are brought to the temple or shrine where purchased for ritual purification.
Along with New Year's decorations, the daruma doll that represented the semi-legendary Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma, a founder of Zen Buddhism is one of the objects to be purified annually. The reddish round doll has blank white eyes in its original figure. When the owner sets a goal or makes a wish, the left eye is painted black just like Far East Asian eyes. If the dream or wish comes true, the right eye is filled. The doll is used for facilitating the owner to make the owner's dream come true. When it's achieved, the doll is purified on a bonfire...
