okiagari-koboshi

thumb|Okiagari-kobōshi from Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima is a Japanese traditional doll. The toy is made from papier-mâché and is a roly-poly toy, designed so that its weight causes it to return to an upright position if it is knocked over. Okiagari-kobōshi is considered a good-luck charm and a symbol of perseverance and resilience (including for Daruma versions).

==History== 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. Okiagari-kobōshi has long been popular among Japanese children. It is mentioned in a 14th-century play called Manju-Kui, and folklorist Lafcadio Hearn recorded a lullaby from Matsue in Izumo Province in the early 20th century that lists the doll as a gift for a young child: Nenneko, nenneko nenneko ya! Kono ko nashite naku-yara? O-chichi ga taranuka? — o-mama ga taranuka? Ima ni ototsan no ōtoto no o-kaeri ni Ame ya, o-kwashi ya, hii-hii ya, Gara-gara, nagureba fuito tatsu Okiagarikoboshi! — Neneko, neneko, nenneko ya!