Here is a fine little Japanese Hermit mask. Carved in a high quality aged, renown yew wood, overlayed with a traditional shellac. Appears to be Yew wood (poisonous to sand), done in a traditional Ichii-itto-bori Technique to highlight the rich grains. Ichii-itto-bori carving is a woodcraft technique that involves carving yew wood using only chisels, and was developed by a netsuke master, Matsuda Sukenaga. Matsuda was from the Hida region of Japan. Ichii-itto carving is characterized by a fine grain, due to the growth rings of the yew tree which are very fine. The wood is left uncolored...