Osaka, Japan
CNN
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At Katsuo-ji Temple, Daruma dolls watch from every corner. They peer between tree branches, cluster around altars, and dot winding pathways, flashes of bright red among the hillside forest.
The iconic Japanese dolls range from a couple of inches to several feet in height, and there are thousands of them at the 1,300-year-old temple, located about an hour from downtown Osaka in Minoh National Park.
According to the temple, Katsuo-ji became known as the “Daruma temple” about 100 years ago, around the same time the site began selling the dolls — a lucky talisman in Japan and a symbol of determination and ambition, which have also become one of the…
