This is a mask which is said to be a lucky charm that wards off evil and indispensable at festivals.
An Inami carving “lion’s head” displayed in an antique store (“Jikoh”) in the northwestern part of NISHIOGI. It was made by Tamura Yohachiro, the 15th generation of the Banshoya family in Inami-machi, Toyama Prefecture.
Inami wood carving is a traditional technique with over 250 years of history, and it is said that more than 200 chisels and carving knives are used to hammer into wood with skillful handwork, breathing life into the wood.
The techniques that once decorated shrines and temples are now used to decorate transoms and decorative items in homes.
打ちノミの美
魔除けの縁起物といわれる、祭礼に欠かせない仮面です。
西荻北西地区の骨董店(「慈光」)に展示されている、井波（いなみ）彫刻の「獅子頭」。富山県井波町の番匠屋十五代田村與八郎（たむら よはちろう）の作。
井波彫刻は、250年以上の伝統の技を有し、200本以上のノミや彫刻刀を駆使して巧みな手さばきで木に打ち込み、木に生命を吹き込んでいくという。かつて神社仏閣を飾った技が、今そっくり住宅の欄間や置物の彫りに活かされています。
