Long Tail Rooster Ittobori Sasano Wood Carving Mid Century Onagadori Signed Made in Japan. This piece measures 6" tall. It is a folk art piece called a Sasano-bori carving from Yonezawa City of Yamagata Prefecture of Japan and sold on the day of a temple festival market. This is a long tailed rooster carved from a single block of wood and the details are hand painted. The long shavings are cut up toward the tail of the bird and left in a natural curl.This technique was used during the construction of Sasano Kannon temple in 807 and it was learned from the Ainu tribe who were still living in this area long ago. Since Edo period during Anei (1772-81), the feudal lord Uesugi Harunori encouraged the production of folk toys to supplement the income of the farmers during the long wintertime. Relatively unknown to the people of Tokyo, the Sasano folk toy was introduced for the first time when an owner of a folk toy shop in Tokyo had commissioned the craftsmen of Sasano to make the rooster carving for the Year of the Rooster in 1921.Though it is highly stylized, this is a type of long-tailed rooster called the Onagadori. A cross between a pheasant and a Totenko (brown domestic fowl), Onagadori is a very rare rooster and its tail can be up to 10 meters long.Condition: Good condtion with a clear stamp on bottom. It seems some of the paint as smeared but it should be easy to remove!

This item is sold from a vintage boutique in Washington.