In Photos: Production of tiger-themed New Year daruma dolls roars into high gear

       HIRATSUKA, Kanagawa -- Production of auspicious daruma dolls to ring in the New Year is at its height at a shop in this city south of Tokyo, all of them featuring a tiger motif as 2022 is the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese zodiac.

       Craftspeople at Arai Darumaya, a studio with a 150 year-plus history, were recently seen applying the finishing touches to the tiger faces on softball-size daruma dolls, made of Japanese washi paper and clay. Each tiger has its right paw raised like a welcoming "manekineko" cat, in the hope that the doll will help put Japan's pandemic-hit economy back on track. The shop plans to craft 3,000 tiger dolls by the end of the year.

       "As they are handmade, each and every doll face has its own character. We hope people will visit our shop and look at the dolls with their own eyes, before choosing one they'd like to get," said Seikan Arai, 66, the fourth-generation head of the studio.

       (Japanese original by Yuki Miyatake, Photo Group)

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