Teru Teru Bozu (Weather Doll) Coloring Pages

What is a Teru Teru Bozu (Weather Doll)? A Traditional Japanese Sunshine Doll

A Teru Teru Bozu (Weather Doll) is a special Japanese doll you hang by a window or under the roof to wish for sunny weather tomorrow. People usually make them out of white cloth or tissue paper. Even today, kids love to handmake them the day before big events like field trips, sports days, or fun family journeys!

Where It Came From: The Legend of "Sao Chin Nyan"

The story of Teru Teru Bozu (Weather Doll) started long ago in China with a paper doll called "Sao Chin Nyan." This doll was a little girl holding a broom. People believed she could sweep away bad storm clouds with her broom and bring back the blue sky! This idea came to Japan hundreds of years ago and grew into the doll we make today.

How It Got Its Name and Changed in Japan

When this doll first came to Japan, it looked like a little girl. But over time, it changed into the shape of a monk! Long ago in Japan, people believed monks had magic power to talk to the sky and stop the rain. Because monks had round, shaved heads, people made the doll with a round head and called it Teru Teru Bozu (Weather Doll) ("Bozu" means monk, and "Teru Teru" means shine shine)!

The Traditional Rules for Hanging Your Doll

Today, kids like to draw cute faces right away. But old traditional rules have some very fun steps you can try!

• Leave the face blank at first: The old rule says you should hang your Teru Teru Bozu (Weather Doll) up before drawing its face or eyes.

• Draw the face after the sun comes out: If your wish comes true and it turns out sunny, draw eyes and a happy smile to say thank you!

• Say thank you when you are done: In the past, people would give the doll a drink to thank it. Today, you can say "Thank you!" from your heart when you throw it away.

• Hanging it upside down calls for rain: If you hang your Teru Teru Bozu (Weather Doll) upside down, it means you want it to rain instead!

How People Around the World Know It

Teru Teru Bozu (Weather Doll) is a special part of Japanese tradition. Today, people all around the world know it by its Japanese name, "Teru Teru Bozu (Weather Doll)." When explaining it in English, people often call it a "Weather doll" or a "Sunny doll," or say it is "a paper doll used to pray for fine weather."

Shading Tips to Make Cloth and Tissue Look Soft and White

A Teru Teru Bozu (Weather Doll) body is usually white. The trick to showing white on a coloring page is using shadows!

• Leave pure white spots: Leave the paper plain white on the top of the head where light hits, and on the puffy parts of the clothes.

• Add soft color shadows: Try adding light blue, light gray, or lavender softly under the neck knot and inside cloth folds. This quick trick makes the cloth look soft, fluffy, and 3D!

Fun Color Combinations for Ribbons and Clothes

Each Teru Teru Bozu (Weather Doll) wears different clothes and accessories. Have fun using many colors to match their style!

• Make accessories pop: Use bright, warm colors like red, pink, yellow, or orange for neck ribbons, ties, little hats, or star and flower hair clips. This makes them look super cute!

• Try fun patterns: If the clothes have polka dots, hearts, or stripes, pick colors that stand out next to each other. It will make your artwork look bright and full of energy!

How to Blend Colors for Rainbows and Sky Backgrounds

The sky and rainbow behind your Teru Teru Bozu (Weather Doll) set the mood for your whole coloring page.

• Color all 7 rainbow colors neatly: Use the tip of your colored pencil to carefully color the arch from the outside in: red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, dark blue, and purple. Gently overlap the edges to blend them like a real rainbow!

• The bright sun and blue sky: Color the sun peeking through clouds with strong yellow and orange. For the sky, make the top dark blue and blend it down to light blue. This shows the rain clouds going away and bright sunshine coming out!

How to Color Window Views and Around Other Characters

Here are great tips for coloring kids looking out windows or nature scenes seen from a porch!

• Color nearby and far-away objects differently: Color close things like window frames, books, and house plants with darker, bold colors. Use soft, light colors for far-away scenes, like a European port town or Japanese rice fields. This makes your picture look deep!

• Natural colors: Mix yellow-green and olive green into forests and fields instead of just one green. This shows fresh summer plants growing strong! Add bright yellow and purple to sunflowers and lavender up front to make your picture cheerful and full of life.

Is it right to not draw a face at first?

When you make a Teru Teru Bozu (Weather Doll), you might draw a cute face right away. But long ago, the rule was to hang it with no face drawn on it. Once your wish came true and it became sunny, you would draw the face on it to say thank you!

Was it a girl at first?

The Japanese Teru Teru Bozu (Weather Doll) looks like a monk. But in the Chinese legend where it came from, it was a girl named Saoqingniang. It started as a paper cutout of a kind, smart girl using her broom to sweep away rain clouds.

Why did it become a monk?

When the story came to Japan, monks were the ones who prayed for good weather. That is why it changed from a girl to a monk. At first, people called it Teru Teru Hoshi.

What happens if you hang it upside down?

If you hang it upside down, it is called a Sakasa Bozu. This actually becomes a spell to make it rain! People hang it upside down on purpose when they want rain. So if you want sunny skies, make sure your Teru Teru Bozu (Weather Doll) is hanging straight up!

Cleaning up after a sunny day

In old Japan, when the sun came out, people drew a face on the Teru Teru Bozu (Weather Doll). Then they offered a drink and floated it down a river to say thank you. We cannot throw things in rivers today, but you can still clean it up nicely while saying thank you in your heart for the sunny weather!