Question Okimono Bronze Signature?

I've been trying to discover as much as possible about this item and would really appreciate any assistance.
This is my Japanese bronze elephant okimono which was obtained by my father when in the Royal Navy in the 1940s.
It is 19.5cm High x 37cm Long x 14cm Wide.
I believe the artist to be Omori Mitsumoto.
Is that correct and is there any further information you could provide about his work?
Very many thanks for your help with this.

After some online searching.... these are the characters I think 光元作 ??

After a cursory glance, there isn't much biographical information available on "Omori Mitsumoto" (? 大森光元). However, his name appears on several Japanese auction sites, referring to him as an "Edo era sculptor."

Thank you for that it was very helpful.
There's not a great deal about that artist online but from what I've found he appears to have been a Japanese sculptor who lived during the Meiji period (1868-1912) and a piece of his work is apparently housed in the Tokyo National Museum.