Hananuma Masakichi Gaff Here are two different Ripley's postcards released in 1939. Not 100% sure that I believe the story, but I grabbed the postcards anyway. Kind of fits in with the whole sideshow freak thing....... It has been told this statue was the prized possession of Robert Ripley, of "Ripley's Believe It Or Not". As mentioned in Ripley's Amazing Facts: "Ripley's prized possession was a sculpture of Japanese artist Hananuma Masakichi. The life-size, life-like, self-sculpted statue incorporated Masakichi's own hair, fingernails and toenails to make it appear more real. Ripley kept the statue in a special curtained area of his bedroom". The statue was exhibited at the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium at the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition and at the Ripley dime museum. The story goes; Hananuma Masakichi was a Japanese artist who learned he was dying from tuberculosis, and wanted to leave a gift to the woman he loved. He made a statue of himself that is so life-like and realistic, people couldn't tell which was the fake even while the real Masakichi stood next to it. Working with adjustable mirrors, Masakichi made each body part separately using strips of dark wood, between 2,000 and 5,000 pieces. The statue is mostly hollow inside. No nails were used; the strips were assembled using dovetail joints, glue and wooden pegs. They are joined so perfectly that no seams can be seen, even with a magnifying glass. The wood was painted and lacquered to match his skin tone and reflects every tendon, muscle, bone, vein and wrinkle and pore. Masakichi also handcrafted glass eyes that are so technically and visually perfect that they still baffle members of the optical profession. The artist then bored a tiny, individual hole for every pore on his body and plucked the corresponding hair from that pore and inserted it at the exact position on the statue. In this manner he covered the entire sculpture with all of his own hair - head, beard, backs of his hands, legs, eyebrows and eyelashes. Then he pulled out all of his own fingernails, toe nails and teeth and carefully put them in their exact position on the statue. He finished off the statue by adding his glasses, clothes, a sculpting tool and a tiny mask he had made. The figure appears emaciated because the TB was taking it's toll. He was 53 when the statue was finished in 1885. Masakichi held a private exhibition of his work. He stood beside the artwork to the utter confusion and awe of the audience who could not tell which was him and which was not. He managed to live to age 63 and died in 1895. In spite of his incredible talent, he died in poverty. Ripley's Postcard                  click thumbnails for additional items Back to the Freaks Home † Contact // All material ©Patt Kelley Illustration.