Mini Take Apart Yosegi Puzzle Box

At first glance, this small puzzle box appears to be a traditional Japanese puzzle box. However, this unusual little puzzle can actually be taken apart completely to reveal the secret woodworking techniques which lock the six sides together. A novel twist on a design that is hundreds of years old. The decoration on this box features a dozen different species of indigenous wood. No paints or dyes were used.

Yosegi is the name of a traditional style of marquetry developed in the Hakone Mountains of Japan. Skilled artisans use slender sticks of various types of wood to create intricate patterns of shapes and colors. The sticks are then glued into logs and paper-thin layers are shaved from the face of the assembly to be used as decoration for puzzles and other wood crafts.

Handmade in Japan.