Okiagari-koboshi

[1] Okiagari-kobōshi is considered a good-luck charm and a symbol of perseverance and resilience (including for Daruma versions).

[2] The makers of the earliest okiagari-kobōshi likely modeled them after a Chinese toy called Budaoweng (不倒翁; not-falling-down old man) that is similarly weighted.

Presently when father returns from the great Lord's palace, Ame will be given to you, and also cake, and a hii-hii likewise, And a rattle as well, and an okiagarikoboshi

[6] Shoppers typically throw several okiagari-koboshi down at the same time; those that stand back up are supposedly the lucky ones.

[5] One kind of Daruma doll works on the same principle as okiagari-kobōshi and is sometimes referred to by that name; whenever it is thrown down, it rights itself.

[7] This depiction of the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma likely arose in connection with a legend that says that he once meditated for nine years, which caused his legs to either atrophy or fall off.

[8] A 17th-century children's song shows that the okiagari-kobōshi Daruma dolls of the time were almost identical to their modern equivalents: ひに！ ふに！Hi ni!