Very Large Ainu Bear, Japan 1960-70 - Wood - Monoxyl

Carved and stained wood. Direct cut - Monoxyl - small shocks and wear, some scratches - 1960s-70s - very dense wood - weight approximately 30 kg. Rare in this large format. Be careful, you need a carrier!! It takes two to lift it. --About the Ainu: constitute an aboriginal population living in northern Japan. Arrived around the 14th century BC, in the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. During the Meiji era, forced assimilation prohibited their culture, dispossessed them of their land, until the complete annexation of Hokkaido. Just like the Eskimo populations of Canada, the Chukchi of Siberia, the Ainu, perceive the bear as the equal of humans. For the Ainu, in nature there are divine spirits "kamuy", male or female, some good, others malevolent. When they come to Earth, they take the appearance of natural entities: animals, plants, rivers and mountains. The origin of this craft comes from the "inoka" animist bear miniatures, showing the animal's power of metamorphosis. Kimun kamuy, when he comes down from the mountains, puts on his bear costume. The bear thus becomes “a mountain man”. The statuette transcribes his power. - In 1933 Emperor Hirohito ordered bears, this event brought public attention, and led to the start of workshops.