Kibori Kuma 木彫り熊
Another cute kibori kuma for your consideration. These wooden bear carvings were produced on the northern island of Hokkaido, and sold as souvenirs. Though sometimes offered as a traditional craft of Hokkaido’s native people, the Ainu, they are in fact an unusual example of officially-sanctioned folk art. It seems that on a trip to Switzerland in 1922, Yoshichika Tokugawa (gentleman botanist, and scion of Tokugawa shogunate) was very impressed by the Alpine folk carvings he saw offered for sale. On retuning to his farm in Yakumo, he strongly encouraged the locals to create similar work. Though the bears can be quite formulaic (they are usually shown clasping a salmon in their jaws), every carver lends his or her own je ne sais quoi, so every bear has its own distinctive personality.
Another cute kibori kuma for your consideration. These wooden bear carvings were produced on the northern island of Hokkaido, and sold as souvenirs. Though sometimes offered as a traditional craft of Hokkaido’s native people, the Ainu, they are in fact an unusual example of officially-sanctioned folk art. It seems that on a trip to Switzerland in 1922, Yoshichika Tokugawa (gentleman botanist, and scion of Tokugawa shogunate) was very impressed by the Alpine folk carvings he saw offered for sale. On retuning to his farm in Yakumo, he strongly encouraged the locals to create similar work. Though the bears can be quite formulaic (they are usually shown clasping a salmon in their jaws), every carver lends his or her own je ne sais quoi, so every bear has its own distinctive personality.
Another cute kibori kuma for your consideration. These wooden bear carvings were produced on the northern island of Hokkaido, and sold as souvenirs. Though sometimes offered as a traditional craft of Hokkaido’s native people, the Ainu, they are in fact an unusual example of officially-sanctioned folk art. It seems that on a trip to Switzerland in 1922, Yoshichika Tokugawa (gentleman botanist, and scion of Tokugawa shogunate) was very impressed by the Alpine folk carvings he saw offered for sale. On retuning to his farm in Yakumo, he strongly encouraged the locals to create similar work. Though the bears can be quite formulaic (they are usually shown clasping a salmon in their jaws), every carver lends his or her own je ne sais quoi, so every bear has its own distinctive personality.