Sasano-Bori wood carving

Sasano-Bori are traditional Japanese carvings of birds. They are made from small branches using a carving tool called a Sarukiri, more like a meat cleaver than anything we use in the west for carving wood. Farmers in the village of Sasano spend their winters sitting by the fire carving the sasanobori birds, which were originally made to solicit the favor of the gods during war.[1][2]