The Kaminyu Wood-Carving Village in Maibara City located at the foot of Mt. Ryozen where the springwater of Samegai originates produces traditional hand-crafted products designated by Shiga Prefecture made using techniques from the Edo period. The rare craftsmanship in which Japanese traditional patterns are freely carved in two or three dimensions has been passed down to the present.
Taizo Mori (1900 to 1988) from Kaminyu was a sculptor who was accepted for the Imperial Art Exhibition, the highest art exhibition in Japan at that time (the current Japan Fine Arts Exhibition). He continued to hold exhibitions at Kyoto Museum, etc. every year until his death. The Samegai Wood Sculpture Museum is a museum including collections of pieces of work by the sculptor Taizo Mori and senior sculptors who built the foundation of the current Kaminyu Village.