-The strange tale of how a Tiger hunting nobleman brought together Swiss and Japanese and Ainu carvers to create the ‘Kibori Kuma’ - The Wooden Bears of Hokkaido-
My interest in wooden bears arose out of a beach combing find on one spring afternoon. We had just arrived in Hokkaido and hit the first beach. Although we were unlucky when it came to glass floats, I was able to find this beach worn drift wood bear. It looked interesting. I put it into my large size Yoake beachcombing bag and kept combing.
Arriving home after much drama and memories, I started looking up bears. And I found bits and pieces of information. I would see them at antique shops but I didn’t know what I was really looking at. So after accumulating more bears then I ever thought I should, we decided to take a deep dive and research the beautiful carved bears once for all. We present to you the definitive beachcombers guide to Hokkaido wooden bears.
The famous Hokkaido Brown Bear souvenirs are carved in the far north by Japanese and Ainu artisans. Using customized knives and chisels, these craftsmen sit on the floor, they use their feet as a vice to hold a block of wood; every turning and with wood chips flying, they skillfully carve to create beautiful pieces of art. Hokkaido was a destination for travelers as well as a many military men who would be stationed there. Back in the day, especially before everyone had cameras, the carved bear souvenir was a hit for such travelers. They would bring them back home with pride. And it was big business for craftsmen, artists and even carpenters who wanted to earn some easy money. So popular were these brown bear carvings of Hokkaido, that they were once a staple of Japanese Tea Rooms and entry ways (more specifically the Tokonoma and Genkan). They reached their heyday in the Showa 40’s (1965-75). And so they were slowly receding from collective memory, but just now have resurged in popularity as seen in this article in GQ magazine. Collectors are willing to pay as much as a $25,000 for the rarest of these hand carved Ursus arcs lasiotus or Ussuri Brown Bear. Yet, the history of these carved bears of Hokkaido is, in Japanese terms, not a very long one. As we will see, later this year marks the wooden bear’s one hundredth year anniversary.
If you ever happen to visit Hokkaido, you will notice “Beware of Bear” signs are ubiquitous. Estimates say there are ten thousand brown bears present in Hokkaido, which is roughly the same size as the island of Ireland. Within Japan, brown bears live exclusively in Hokkaido. The rest of Japan is the home range of the Asiatic Black Bear. Hokkaido was also the last refuge for the Ainu, the indigenous people of the northern Japan. The Ainu were known for worshiping bears as well as for wooden craftsmanship. So on the surface, it would seem only natural that wooden bears would become a staple of the Hokkaido gift shop. But, where did these carved bears actually come from? The answer is not as widely known as one might think. And for that we need to take a look at a famous aristocrat, nature lover and patron of art and music.
So it all begins when the “Tiger hunting Lord”, The Marquess (one rank below Prince/Duke and one above Earl/Count) of Owari-Tokugawa Family. Yoshichika Tokugawa went off on his tour of Europe in 1921. On his trip, he happened upon peasant art, which he bought and brought back to his domain. But this is 1921 and there really were no more domains for Samurai families. So let me explain. The days of the Shogun ended in 1686 with Japan’s modernization (The Meiji restoration) and in effect, so all of the Samurai, along with all of their servants and samurai retainers, lost their jobs . As Lord of the Owari Han (present day Nagoya) which was directly related to the Shogunate family, this former domain had many unemployed former servants and their descendants. To alleviate their unemployment, the Owari-Tokugawa family sent many of these former retainers up north to homestead and pioneer new land in the vast wilderness of Hokkaido. The land they pioneered they named Yakumo and they started a company which began potato farming, logging, and finally dairy farming. By the time our Tiger Hunting Lord inherited the family business, the farm and its farmers faced economic hardship.
This new head of the Owari-Tokugawa family was a kind of socialite 20th Century Japan. Being an Aristocrat, he served in the House of Peers. But he quit politics and the cabinet because his fellow aristocrats would not accept land reform early enough. Rare for Japanese at this time, he showed an interest in Ainu and Ainu culture. He even spent time with John Batchlor, “the father of the Ainu” to bridge Japan-Ainu relations. He would visit his land in Hokkaido each year and fish for trout and salmon and have the local Ainu guide him on bear hunts. He managed to kill 18 brown bears in 25 years of hunting. In Hokkaido, he hosted members of the royal family and dignitaries as well. Because he was famous and often written about after a successful tiger hunt in British Malaya, the press dubbed him the “Tiger hunting Lord”. He later hunted elephants and hosted the sultan of Malaya. He became the first head of the Japan Hunting Club. As a lover of music he supported accordionists and violinists, and became the first board member of the Suzuki violin method. He worked at the Singapore Zoo during the Japanese occupation and became the Honorary Chairman of The Japan Barber’s Association. But let us get back to the fateful tour of Europe he embarked on in 1921.
By 1922, Yoshichika had arrived in the city of Bern, Switzerland. The word Bern, not surprisingly, is the Old German word for bear. City lore says that a bear was killed by the Duke of Bern, just before he founded the city. Set in the foot hills of the Swiss Alps, this federal capitol of Switzerland has a big bear on its flag as its heraldic animal. As such, the city has maintained a bear-pit (recently changed to a bear park) to keep bears for the past 500 years. The city, in its heyday had artisans and craftsmen carve amazingly detailed and artistic statues on clock towers and fountains across the city. Most of these carvings contained bears in one shape or form (bears with swords or bears in medieval dress doing extraordinary things.) But from there he visited a lake and village on the outskirts of the canton of Bern called Brienz. This village happened to be at the center of Switzerlands wood carving region. It has a school for wood carving founded in 1884 which is still in operation today. The wood carving began for the farmers when tourist started visiting the alps. In summer they would row visitors across the lake and in winter they would carve items to sell as souvenirs. This became a hit and and sales took off. So this is where Yoshichika was exposed to peasant art - a concept unheard of in Japan at the time. Ever on the look out for economic opportunities for his family’s former servants, Yoshichika brought back many wooden items among them were two wooden bears.
On his recent visits to Hokkaido he had noticed that there was not only no work in the winter but also no cultural entertainment to be had. He took the items back to Hokkaido as samples so that like the farmers from Switzerland, they too could sell the wooden bears as souvenirs. So he brought with him twenty wooden items in total. Among the items were wooden bowls, ashtrays, grape leaf plates, children a hen, paper knife letter opener and so on. Of the two bears that he brought back, one was on all fours and the other was standing and holding a bobbin of thread.
At first he suggested to his farmers that they take inspiration from the Swiss items and carve similar things. After much trial and error, they made a group decision to focus mainly on carving the bears (Masao Ito carved the first bear in 1924.) Yoshichika encouragingly promised to buy the carvings, good or bad, to support their efforts at first. Being a well connected nobleman, he invited artists (Kaneyuki Tokura) from Tokyo to hold seminars on the art of carving. He also started the first Yagumo Art Show and contest held to promote folk art. They struggled at first because at this time Japanese did not even have a word for “folk art”. Farmers had little understanding or appreciation of art. But Yoshichika and his farmers keep working and chose the best bears, had them stamped with a Yakumo brand and began selling to the public as souvenirs. Production increased to roughly five thousand bears a year. And so by 1932, these Yakumo souvenir bears gained national attention. Also, by this time, the Yakumo bears stylistically diverged significantly from the sample bears brought from Switzerland; paving the way for what we now recognize as the Hokkaido bears.
Also during this time, the Yakumo carvers acquired one male and one female bear to keep as examples to carve from. Because these bears were treated as pets, and were well taken care of, they started to gain weight. This fact is later reflected in the Yakumo bear carvings as they too became rounder and rounder, overfed, kind looking bears. Sadly, when World War II began, the Japanese army moved the farm to build a flyway. They confiscated all metal and so the cages for the bears were removed. These bears were shot and killed.
Three Streams of Hokkaido Bear Carving
All Yakumo bears are Hokkaido wooden bears, but not all Hokkaido wooden bears are Yakumo bears. From the beginning it seems that the carved bears were divided into two and then later three different streams. In a certain way the first two streams were superficially divided into Japanese and Ainu. These are named after their originating regions: Yakumo, Asahikawa and Naie (Horii).
Yakumo Bears
The Yakumo bears were carved exclusively by Japanese. History shows that the initial carvers were descendants of servants for the Tokugawa Owari family. Although Ainu lived near by, and were essential to Yoshichika’s bear hunting success, the native Ainu from this town did not carve any bears.
The Yakumo bears are easily identifiable. This is most clear if the bear has the branding stamped on its foot. Also as mentioned above, the Yakumo bears were generally fat and round just like their pet bears. They also often times have unique carving textures. These include, menbori (plain sides with no fur lines.), kattobori (knife cuts) and hatsuribori (hatchet cuts.) Famous carvers include Takiji Motegi (very realistic bears). He would hunt his own bear and study their anatomy. Jiro Hikima and Shigeyuki Shibazaki, kattobori and hatsuribori carvers respectively. And now there is a new generation of artist from Yakumo including woman such as Yukiko Tanaka who you can follow here.
Asahikawa Bears
Wood craft and Ainu culture go hand in hand. So much so that many people would assume that the carved bears all originate with the Ainu. Many famous carvers are from Ainu heritage. However, the Ainu of Hokkaido were not known to carve animals as stand alone objects. It was considered a taboo as they thought that spirits would enter the carved animals and would do evil. Yet they would carve wooden animals as part of tools and implements such as their head bands for religious ceremonies and special sticks used to serve alcohol to their gods. But among the the Ainu of the Russian Island of Sakhalin, there have been found stand alone bear idols called Inoka which again, do not look like the Hokkaido souvenir bears of the 20th century. They are rather more naturally formed by tree shape (branches for legs and trunk for body.) Regardless, Ainu people of Hokkaido had an aversion to carved bears as souvenirs. Yet one young Ainu hunter, Umetaro Matsui was of the new generation; young enough to not feel strain of the tradition. So he carved a bear that he saw on a hunt. He couldn’t forget that sight of seeing this bear with a wounded paw. And somehow felt compelled to carve the image of that bear. Some say this carving by Umetaro predates the Yakumo bear. But it is generally agreed upon that the first Ainu bear sold as a souvenir to tourists was carved in 1926. These became known as the Asahikawa bears. The city of Asahikawa had a large Ainu population and had shops dealing in wood crafts made by Ainu. The crafts included wooden bowls and all matter of kitchenware. Throughout the years, most of the Ainu have been absorbed and assimilated into Japanese culture. So although this style originates with the Ainu many of the remaining carvers are only part Ainu or fully Japanese. But these carved souvenirs became so important to this region that even now the city of Asahikawa has a wood carving union that supports many carvers. At its height of popularity (1960’s and 70’s) the city would hold carving competitions such as speed carving to celebrate their carving heritage. Carvers then began to spread this craft to other carvers near tourist destinations as well as Ainu villages across Hokkaido. These towns include Akan, and Shiraoi and Nibutani.
One easy way to identify Asahikawa bears is their realism. In contrast to most of the kept bears of Yakumo, the Ainu would focus on wild bears. They not only hunted them, but their cultural and religion caused them to have a closer connection to wild bears. They carved them in a much more realistic style. The bears they would encounter in the forest were much thinner but more muscular and often times aggressive.
Famous carvers in the Ashikawa style include Umetaro and Kenji Hiratsuka, Mitsuru Sugiura and hundreds of other carvers. When people think of Japanese carved bears, they are usually thinking of these Asahikawa bears. A modern carver in this style is Kenji Sato who you can follow here.
Naie (Horii) Bears
This last style and my personal favorite is the Naie or Horii Style. It began as a collective of carvers headed by Seiji Horii under the banner of Horii Mingei. They began carving bears in the Asahikawa style but became so dominant that they are now considered the third stream of carved bears. They were located in the town of Naie in the mountains near Sapporo. Horii carved and then gifted a bear to the Showa Emperor. From then on his bears became nationally acclaimed. With the sudden rise in popularity, the group tried to keep up with demand by carving thousands upon thousands of bears mostly in the 1960’s and 70’s.
Like the original Swiss bear, the Horii bears often times have glass beads for eyes. The bears are generally like the Asahikawa bears but look markedly thinner and softer. Also, many if not most of them have a stamp on the bottom of the paw. The stamp is a silver or white outline of a bear head with the Japanese hiragana letters for Horii.
Famous Horii carvers include Seiji Horii and Kouji Horii. One who is still carving is Yoshimi Horii whose work you can see here.
How to Judge a Hokkaido Bear
Obviously rule number one or the most applicable rule here is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The real question that needs to be answered is whether you like the carving or not. But there are subtleties and general guidelines that one can follow should the opportunity rise to acquire a bear.
Posture/Shape
The following ten are the most prominent postures or shapes that the Hokkaido bears are carved in :
1. Shake Gui Guma - Salmon Eating Bear
The bear is holding a salmon in its mouth and standing on all fours
2. Hoe Guma - Barking Bear
The bear has its mouth open, while standing on all fours
3. Shake Mochi Hoe Guma - Barking Bear Holding A Salmon
The bear is holding the salmon in one hand and standing on the other three legs
4. Ikari Guma - Angry Bear
Paw swiping and standing on three legs
5. Kuchitoji Guma - Closed Mouth Bear
The Bear is on all fours
6. Oyako Guma - Cub and Sow
The bear is holding a cub in its mouth and standing on all fours
7. Shake Seoi Guma - Salmon Shouldering Bear
A bear carrying salmon on a stringer - it can be either standing or on all fours
8. Suwari Guma - Sitting Bear
9. Tachi Guma - Standing Bear
10. Nobori Kuma - Climbing Bear
A bear depicted climbing objects such as trees and rocks
Beyond this list there are many more variations as well as bear heads and wall hangers. And there is even a novelty version of a giant salmon holding a tiny bear in its mouth.
Materials and Size
The most popular wood used for carving are Shinanoki (Japanese Lime), Enju (Japanese Pagoda Tree), Chestnut, Sennoki (Prickly Castor Oil Tree), Bog wood, and Ichii (Japanese Yew). Most of these materials are very light colored (chest nut, bog wood and yew being the exception.) Most bears are colored black. The black is chosen by the carver and there is no standard paint. Some use Sumi (Japanese charcoal ink) or shoe polish. Others may use water color and lacquer. There are also clear coated bears and also burned bears that accentuate the natural wood grain. These are usually stained or clear coated.
The bears come in all sizes and the measurements are all unique to the carver but they are usually graded on a similar rule. Taking the most popular shape of the bear on all fours, the craftsman measures the bear side ways from front paw to front paw and and determines sizing number. Japan used to use its own units of length before incorporating the metric system and so they measure by Sun which is basically the same as an inch (1 sun =1.19 in.) So a bear measuring 3 sun would be a size 3 and so on. But the system changes a bit for standing bears. Carved bear sizes can be as little as 1/3 sun (1cm) to life size six feet tall bears. For bears on all fours, the most popular size is a size 6.
Details to Look For
Firstly, if you are on the look out for early antiques, you should look to see if the bear’s mouths were painted red (The earliest bear’s mouths, including the Swiss bear and pre-war bears, were all painted red.) Next, see if the bear has nails for eyes or glass bead eyes (the first Swiss bear as well as the Horii bears have glass beads for eyes and some of the Yakumo bear have nails for eyes.)
Secondly, you should flip the bear over or look at the base plate to see if it has a stamp (early Yakumo or Horii stamps) or a signature carved by the artist. Sometimes the artist even carved the date and location of the creation. Not all bears have marks. But larger sized bears tend to have maker's marks.
Thirdly, you should look at the intricacy or style of carving. In general, the more intricate the carving (i.e. carved hair lines) the more value the carving would have. However, this logic is flipped on its head when judging style of carving such as the menbori cube style carving seen in early Yakumo designs.
In Conclusion
It is interesting to ponder what would have happened if the Tiger Hunting Lord hadn’t gone on his tour of Europe. But as fate would have it, the travels of one conscientious nature and arts lover led to peasant art being made in Hokkaido. His passion is best captured in the image of his rifle. Held in the Yakumo History Museum, on the buttstock is crudely hand carved sheet music for a song. It has the melody with Japanese lyrics of the song Serenade by Gounoud. You can hear the haunting voice and melody from this gramophone record here.
Special thanks to the following:
