Funakoshi was well-known in the field of visual arts in Japan.
His father, Yasutake Funakoshi, was also a sculptor and soon he felt the same vocation.
His works, usually depicting human figures from the waist up, have a great poetical effect, and are striking and distinctive.
Funakoshi worked this material in a personal way and left visible both the grain of the wood and the marks of carving.
The artist carefully utilised the grain for modelling and left part of the head unpainted, normally the crown.