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“Himitsu-Bako (Personal Secret Box)” is a traditional Japanese puzzle box that was designed over 100 years ago in the Hakone region of Japan. The Hakone Mountains are noted for their great variety of trees. The Personal Secret Box takes advantage of this wide variety of natural wood colors and textures to produce their elaborate geometric patterns. The appeal of the Personal Secret Box is not merely in its entertainment qualities. It is valued as a Yosegi-Zaiku is a mosaic woodwork usually applied to small handicrafts such as trays, boxes and chests. This marquetry technique is originated in the late Edo Period, and in May of 1984, was designated a National Traditional Handicraft by the International Trade & Industry Minister.
Most Japanese Personal Secret Boxes (Puzzle Boxes) have a variety of difficulties ranging from 4 to 66 moves. From a puzzler’s point of view the 59-move box has the most interesting sequence of moves, even better than the 66. A few large puzzle boxes have exceptional numbers of moves, such as 78, 122, 119, or 125.
Puzzle boxes are not easy to make. Since they depend on friction to work properly it is very difficult to produce a box that is neither too loose nor too tight. This becomes more difficult the larger and more complex the box becomes. Boxes that are too tight can’t be opened. Boxes that are too loose are not much fun for the puzzler. The instability of wood itself presents quite a challenge to the puzzle box maker.
Jewelry used to be kept in trick boxes so that a potential thief would have problems seeing and stealing the contents. Puzzle boxes have been crafted all over the world, including Morocco, Poland and South America. By far the most intricate and beautiful is the Japanese puzzle box since it's covered in complicated patterns of rich wood and featuring complex mechanisms to open them.
The “Himitsu-Bako (Personal Secret Box)” is a traditional Japanese puzzle box that was designed over 100 years ago in the Hakone region of Japan. The Hakone Mountains are noted for their great variety of trees. The Personal Secret Box takes advantage of this wide variety of natural wood colors and textures to produce their elaborate geometric patterns. The appeal of the Personal Secret Box is not merely in its entertainment qualities. It is valued as a Yosegi-Zaiku is a mosaic woodwork usually applied to small handicrafts such as trays, boxes and chests. This marquetry technique is originated in the late Edo Period, and in May of 1984, was designated a National Traditional Handicraft by the International Trade & Industry Minister.
Most Japanese Personal Secret Boxes (Puzzle Boxes) have a variety of difficulties ranging from 4 to 66 moves. From a puzzler’s point of view the 59-move box has the most interesting sequence of moves, even better than the 66. A few large puzzle boxes have exceptional numbers of moves, such as 78, 122, 119, or 125.
Puzzle boxes are not easy to make. Since they depend on friction to work properly it is very difficult to produce a box that is neither too loose nor too tight. This becomes more difficult the larger and more complex the box becomes. Boxes that are too tight can’t be opened. Boxes that are too loose are not much fun for the puzzler. The instability of wood itself presents quite a challenge to the puzzle box maker.
Jewelry used to be kept in trick boxes so that a potential thief would have problems seeing and stealing the contents. Puzzle boxes have been crafted all over the world, including Morocco, Poland and South America. By far the most intricate and beautiful is the Japanese puzzle box since it's covered in complicated patterns of rich wood and featuring complex mechanisms to open them.
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