Traditional Art

Takasaki daruma The good luck charm daruma, was created at Shorin-zan Daruma-ji Temple. The origin of making this doll, with papers on a wooden frame, goes all the way back to the age of the great Tenmei famine (late 18C). After the famine, the ninth chief priest in Daruma-ji Temple was grieved at the suffering of the farmers and instructed them how to make daruma so that they could earn some extra money. The good luck daruma is a charm to secure household safety, business success, and scholastic achievement. It is said that 70 % to 80 % of the nationwide dramas are made in Takasaki.

Specialities

Okkirikomi (cut and throw) Okkirikomi is a simple and nutritious recipe produced by Joshu (old name for the Gunma area) women who are busy with work both on the farm and in the kitchen. They cut the home-made thick noodles and throw them in the miso flavored stew with radish and potatoes to cook for a while till the soup becomes thick. This is where the name okkirikomi (cut and throw) comes from.

Yaki-manju (scorched bun with a bean-jam filling)