The rustic and charming bull-headed shrike (mozu) is printed on cotton using a woodblock and stuffed with rice husks. The rice husks give the perfect amount of volume and firmness to bring the life-sized, expertly shaped and printed creature to life.
Mozu are native to Asia and feed on insects, small crustaceans and amphibians. They are known to impale their prey on sharp objects such as thorns or pointed twigs. The pair of frogs on the belly signifies one of its favorite foods.
A red tag on the string says mozu on one side and "hand printed woodblock by Shinkougei" on the other. It gives a nice accent to any bird lover's room; it also works as a Christmas tree ornament.
Specifications
Who Makes It
Founded in 1972 in Hida Takayama, Shinkougei is a craft workshop that specializes in creating various types of craftwork using woodblock print techniques.