Japanese Wooden Carved Ainu Bear Statue Vtg Sculpture Hokkaido Brown AB118 Showa Some marks and stains

Some marks and stains

Kanji on the side: Gaku

It features a cute image of a jizo statue as well as a large "Thank You" written in hiragana characters

Yasuo Honda and Mr

This design uses the traditional seigaiha (blue ocean waves) pattern and contains nods to other popular imagery such as pine

Japanese Wooden Carved Ainu Bear Statue Vtg Sculpture Hokkaido Brown AB118 Showa Some marks and stainsVintage Japanese Wood Carving of Ainu Bear Famously from Hokkaido and northern Japan, this large intricately hand carved bear statue with a fish in its maw is a traditional Ainu folk handicraft. In Ainu spirituality, bears and other animals are considered vehicles for the divine. Bear sculptures in particular were also used to represent thanks to the animal for providing meat and furs long ago. These bears are popular souvenirs and gifts when