Takeki Fujito - Ainu engraver

A sculptor of Ainu ancestry, began digging bears at the age of 12 beside his father, who was also a sculptor. He became famous for his dynamic, life-like style and became one of Japan's leading sculptors. Fujito does not make drawings or drafts. He begins by praying to a piece of wood he has cut from the forest, and then, with a chainsaw, mallet, and chisel, he begins to cut the wood.