In Japanese elections, a winning candidate may be shown filling in the blank eye of a daruma doll with a brush. It is a familiar image in election coverage.
Daruma are traditional good-luck objects often used when someone has a goal or wish. A common practice is to fill in one eye when making the wish, then fill in the other after the goal has been achieved.
In an election, the goal is obvious: winning.
When a candidate uses a daruma, one eye may be filled in before or at the start of the campaign. If the candidate wins, the remaining eye is filled in to complete the doll. The second eye is therefore not meant to help the candidate win at the last moment. It marks the achievement of the goal in a visible way.
Daruma work especially well in elections because the result is so clear: either the candidate wins or loses. A doll with one eye still blank looks unfinished. Once both eyes are filled in, the campaign has reached its conclusion.
That does not mean most Japanese people watching the scene literally believe the daruma caused the victory.
In modern elections, it often feels more like “this is what you do when you win”—a familiar closing ritual. The candidate takes the brush, supporters gather around, and everyone shares the moment of victory and the end of a long campaign.
So filling in the second eye has two meanings at once: completing the original wish and bringing the election campaign to a ceremonial close.
One eye means the goal is still unfinished. Two eyes mean the goal has been reached.
That is why filling in the second eye of a daruma has become such a recognizable way to celebrate an election victory in Japan.
