Louis Lawrence, in his book "Hirado, Prince of Porcelain", accurately summed up why this Japanese porcelain is widely regarded as the finest to ever come out of Japan - it is a true world class ceramic made of the finest clay from Amakusa Island. Hirado is characterized by the extreme smoothness of the clay and its ability to adapt to very unusual shapes because of its malleability and resistance to running in the firing process.

Daruma or Bodhidharma was a Buddhist monk from southern India who lived during the early 5th century and is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Zen to China. When Zen Buddhism was introduced in Japan in the Momoyama period, he became knows as Daruma.