Carved Wood Bear Sculpture.

Size: 5 1/2 X 8 1/2 X 6 1/2 in.

#5347 .

Kibori kuma is a Japanese rural craft that traditionally consists of a wooden carving of a bear with a fish in its mouth. The sculptures are mainly produced in Hokkaido; small carvings are sold as souvenirs of the island. The most common design depicts a brown bear biting a chum salmon, and the sculptor carves the bear’s thick bristles by using an ax. Other versions eschew the fish, or depict the bear on its hind legs. The many variations of kibori can be traced back to Tokugawa Yoshichika, the 19th leader of the Owari Clan, who bought a wooden carving of a bear while he was visiting Bern, Switzerland in 1922. After returning to Japan he showed the carving to farmers in the town of Yakumo, suggesting that they could manufacture copies of it during the winter as a source of income. Prince Chichibu awarded a prize for the carving at a 1927 arts exhibition, leading to more than 5000 carvings being produced during the Showa period. After World War II the manufacture of these souvenirs declined, and by 2012 only one production site in the village still remains. A museum in Yakumo displays examples of the craft. The lack of any signature on this particular piece makes it difficult to ascertain when it was made, or by whom.