What was Robert Ripley's favorite artifact? I'm Colton from Ripley's.com and this is your Weird Minute. The statue of Hananuma Masakichi is so lifelike and so realistically detailed that you could easily believe you're looking at the real man himself. Carved by illustrious Japanese artist Masakichi, the statue is a detailed reproduction of himself. Over 2,000 pieces of wood were used to create the sculpture, and all were carefully cut into strips and glued together to make the seams invisible.
Masakichi mated in the city of Yokohama in 1885, depicting himself at age 53. He was sadly suffering from tuberculosis and wished to leave a monument of himself to his loved ones. Rendering himself in painstaking detail, It's the same exact size as the artist, taking into account skin and hair textures.
Each separate hair was plucked from his own body to go onto the statue, and he even took his own teeth, fingernails, and toenails to put them on the statue before placing his own glasses on his silent counterpart's nose. Robert Ripley searched the world for 20 years after hearing rumors of his existence.
eventually finding it in a curio shop, and adding the one-of-a-kind piece to the Ripley's collection. For more strange stories and to see the Masakichi, head to theripleys.com. If you want even more strange and amazing art, Check out the finalists in DeviantArt's unusual art contest inspired by our book Odd is Art, celebrating the many great art pieces in the Ripley's collection. Rate the Weird Minute if you haven't already, and tune in tomorrow for another Minute of Odd.