A giant Daruma Statue enshrined in the temple, what for?

Daruma are traditional Japanese dolls, and they are made of paper, typically painted in red, and have no arms or legs. The Daruma's eyes are initially blank white. The owner fills in black in the left eye while making a wish and fills in the right eye when the wish has come true. Daruma Festival is held every year on April 1st and 2nd at this temple. I'll describe the details of Daruma Festival afterwards.

First of all, I'd like to introduce the temple I visited.  This is Ryotan-ji Temple in Hikone City, Shiga Prefecture that is famous for its Japanese garden and Daruma. This temple is also known as a family temple of the Ii family, former lords of Hikone domain in Edo-period.

This is the main gate of the temple.

This is a typical Japanese rock and dry landscape garden created during early Edo-period.

This is another type of Japanese garden with a pond in the center borrowing natural scenery.

Let's get to the main subject.

According to the information on a website, At 10:30 am on April 1st, the first day of the Daruma Festival, the temple bell sounds in the solemn atmosphere. Then the highest priest appears in a glittering scarlet robe with an overwhelming aura as many priests read out sutras.

While many worshipers watch, the candles on the platform are lit and the ritual begins.

Then, the highest priest followed by many priests perform the ritual putting soul into Daruma dolls that were just a “thing'' before this ceremony. 

After that, the highest priest sits in front of a giant Daruma statue (below) and reads sutras in a solemn atmosphere. 

As a matter of fact, I visited at April 5th, 3 days after this event was finished. I knew this ceremony by a TV news. That's too bad. I really wanted to watch the scene on real time. But, fortunately the Daruma dolls were still on display for a while after the Daruma Festival.

It is said that about 3,000 Daruma dolls of various sizes are enshrined here. Souled Daruma dolls will be sold at the temple throughout the year.

By the way, the pictures painted on the Fusuma sliding doors are worth viewing, which were drawn in 1600's and designated as cultural properties by Hikone City. But we cannot appreciate them while the Daruma dolls are on display.

The hanging rolls seen above Daruma dolls are also historical arts.