Jizai Okimono is a niche Japanese craft dating back to the late 1700s when metalsmiths found themselves with a lot of time on their hands as the demand for multi-plate armour waned. It involves the meticulous carving of hyperrealistic animals with fully articulating, anatomically correct joints.

Here, 25 year-old sculptor Ryosuke Ohtake carves a lobster from boxwood for an exhibition at Tokyu Department Store – a feat made all the more impressive by the fact that it was apparently his first attempt at the craft.

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