Prayer stick

Description

Prayer stick (ikupasuy), wooden stick with pointed end, carved with two bears in full relief and abstract designs in low relief, used in Ainu ceremonies to deliver prayers: Japan, Hokkaido, Ainu, 19th to early 20th century

Museum reference

A.1909.499.52 G

Collection

World Culture

Object name

Prayer stick, Ikupasuy

Production information

Unknown
Hokkaido, Japan, East Asia

Date

19th - early 20th century

Style / Culture

Ainu people (Hokkaido), Japanese

Materials

Wood

Physical description

Carved wood; two bears in full relief

Exhibitions

• Living Lands (29 Jul 2011)
  National Museum of Scotland

• A Scottish Physician's View: Craft and Spirit of the Ainu from the N. G. Munro Collection (26 Apr 2002 - 01 Sep 2002)
  Historical Museum of Hokkaido
  Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History

References

A Scottish Physician's View: Craft and Spirit of the Ainu from the N. G. Munro Collection (2002), no. 115 (p.37)