This is an auspicious wooden dragon carving created in the Sasano Ittobori tradition, a traditional craft of Yonezawa City in Yamagata Prefecture. The intricate, straw-like curled ornamentation surrounding the dragon is known as “Sarukiri,” a distinctive Sasano Ittobori technique in which thin shavings of koshiabura wood are carved with a single specialized blade and left naturally curled in place.
The dragon is regarded as an especially auspicious sacred creature, symbolizing rising success, prosperity and financial fortune, as well as protection from misfortune and purification. Its powerful form soaring through the heavens represents achievement and the fulfillment of wishes, while it is also believed to harmonize the flow of good fortune through its command over the energies of water and wind.
