Japanese Boxes

Considered by some to be the most intricate and beautiful brain benders are the Japanese wooden puzzle boxes, covered in complicated patterns of rich wood inlay and featuring complex brain bending mechanisms to open them. At first glance they appear smooth and without any opening, but some boxes take up to 60 movements to solve.

Japanese Puzzle Boxes are called "himitsu-bako" in Japan, which translates to "Personal Secret Box". The first Japanese wooden puzzle boxes were designed over 100 years ago in the Hakone region of Japan. The mountains in this region are known for their amazing variety of trees. Japanese wooden puzzle boxes take advantage of these natural wood colors and textures to produce their elaborate geometric patterns.The techniques used to make these wooden puzzle boxes have been used for generations in Japan and have been surpassed by none.