• Antique, Japanese Netsuke in hardwood with Patina; this piece clearly has been worn and well used.
• High attention to detail - (see fine details of ears and eyes...)
• Mask is donning a hachimaki (鉢巻, or literally a "helmet-scarf") which is a stylized headband (bandana) in Japanese culture. 
• Usually made of red or white cloth, worn as a symbol of perseverance, effort, and/or courage by the wearer. 
• The historical origin of hachimaki is uncertain. One theory links the cloth to those worn by early religious ascetics. 
• Another theory states that they originated in headbands worn by samurai that kept their helmets on, to absorb perspiration, and keep hair out of their eyes. 
• Perhaps the most well known usage of the hachimaki was by the kamikaze pilots toward the end of World War II; Kamikaze pilots would frequently don a hachimaki, usually with the kanji "神風" ("Kamikaze"), before flying to their deaths. 
• Height = 1.9 inch / 4.9 cm; Width = 1.8 inch / 4.8 cm;  Depth = 0.9 inch / 2.2 cm