The best Karakuri Idea Contest winners are beautifully crafted puzzle creations that cleverly combine theme and solution.  A line of ants is a great example of this.  There are numerous ants depicted on the top and side.  There is a hole on top reflecting the ants’ nest.  There is also a conical shape nearby representing a mound of sugar.  The solution ties these together with the puzzle’s theme in a delightful fashion.  All original packing material is included. Karakuri product desc...

Kamei is the founder of the Karakuri Creation Group and is famous for puzzle boxes that merge impeccable craftsmanship, beautiful presentation, and clever themes and solutions.  Love Box 5 is a great example of this.  This hard-to-find classic depicts a simple heart shape spanned by a ribbon with a bow on top.  Can you figure out how to open the box and access the cloth-lined compartment inside?  All original packing material is included. Karakuri product description: I made "Love Box 3" (...

This gorgeous, ENORMOUS Karakuri comes from their 5th Idea Contest.  This Karakuri tightly couples its theme and solution, and has fantastic shelf presence.  It depicts a thermos container decanting liquid into a cup.  How can you stop the flow?  Answer the question and you’ll open the box.   To the best of my knowledge this is the first time it has ever been available via auction.  All original packaging included. Karakuri product description: Fill the teacup with hot water from t...

Bus Stop is a fantastic example of celebrated puzzle craftsman Osamu Kasho’s singular combination of playful Karakuri design coupled with delightful puzzling mechanic.  There’s a bus.  There’s a stop sign.  We all know what a vehicle does at a stop sign.  How does this play out here?  Figuring that out is the key to opening the box, and even with the solution being connected to the puzzle’s theme it can still take some time to figure out the key step.  And it’s beautiful, craft...

The Alchemist Box from 2021 from the theme "Karakuri Experiments"I solved this box once. It has been stored in my puzzle cabinet since then.Puzzle will be shipped in a sturdy cardboard box with plenty of bubble wrap.Buyer pays shipping determined after close. Please do not pay until shipping cost is confirmed.Paypal only - friends and family is preferred.Please contact me if you want more photos or information

The L Cube box by Kawashima is from 2022I solved this box once. It has been stored in my puzzle cabinet since then.Puzzle will be shipped in a sturdy cardboard box with plenty of bubble wrap.Buyer pays shipping determined after close. Please do not pay until shipping cost is confirmed.Paypal only - friends and family is preferred.Please contact me if you want more photos or information

The Deception Box by IwaharaTricky single move boxI solved this box once. It has been stored in my puzzle cabinet since then.Puzzle will be shipped in a sturdy cardboard box with plenty of bubble wrap.Buyer pays shipping determined after close. Please do not pay until shipping cost is confirmed.Paypal only - friends and family is preferred.Please contact me if you want more photos or information

Star Night CH-5 by Karakuri Creation GroupCrafted in walnut, maple, kobushi magnolia.  New in original box with all inserts.Shipping by USPS, payment via Zelle, check or money order.  If you have any questions, please ask them before bidding. :-)   See all active listings here: metagrobology : the study of puzzles

Angry Lion is a 2022 Christmas Present from Osamu KashoCute, fun box by one of the best Karakuri creatorsLike new condition.Puzzle will be shipped in a sturdy cardboard box with plenty of bubble wrap.Buyer pays shipping determined after close. Please do not pay until shipping cost is confirmed.Paypal only - friends and family is preferred.Please contact me if you want more photos or information

Christmas present from 2018Panel for the first move slides somewhat loosely. This was how it was when I received it from the KCG.Otherwise perfect conditionPuzzle will be shipped in a sturdy cardboard box with plenty of bubble wrap.Buyer pays shipping determined after close. Please do not pay until shipping cost is confirmed.Paypal only - friends and family is preferred.Please contact me if you want more photos or information

Way back in 2003 Karakuri introduced a set of boxes called the “Creative Secret Box Series”.  Now extremely hard to find, there were a total of nine Creative Secret puzzles.  Each was designed by a different craftsman, produced by senior Karakuri member Tatsuo Miyamoto, and featured a similar-styled almost fireworks-like pattern on some of the faces.  Type L is the second release in this series, designed by Karakuri founder Akio Kamei.  It came in three different patterns, with inlaid pa...

This adorable early Karakuri box depicts a scene from nature – a bee flying about a flower.  A combination of at least six exotic woods are used to create a flower under which the box sits and a bee with wings and antenna that magnetically sticks to the flower and can be moved about it.  As with the best Kararukis the solution is connected to the theme of the puzzle in a delightful way.  This very rare puzzle box is by early craftsman Haroyuke Oka, who was responsible for a number of very c...

Christmas present from 2018Very clever single move box.Has been sitting in my puzzle cabinet since I received from the KCGPuzzle will be shipped in a sturdy cardboard box with plenty of bubble wrap.Buyer pays shipping determined after close. Please do not pay until shipping cost is confirmed.Paypal only - friends and family is preferred.Please contact me if you want more photos or information

Ninomiya’s 4 Sun 4 Step by Yoshiyuki Ninomiya KCG Karakuri BoxThis is a traditional secret box made by Yoshiyuki Ninomiya, who is a legendary  master of marquetry(Hakone Yosegi) secret boxes.The wonderfully elaborate production and beautiful and refined marquetry patterns are still of overwhelming quality today. Also the inside of the box is decorated with a marquetry patterns.The Ninomiya’s Stamp is on the bottom of the box.The box mechanism works perfectly.*Excellent condition (nearly br...

Ninokame Box SE-2-2 (KPH4) by Karakuri Creation GroupAnother very rare find - this puzzle box was made from walnut, keyaki (zelkova), yosegi as a gift for the 4th KPH (Karakuri Party in Hakone) in August 2014.  It was limited issue only for participants at the event and is quite difficult to find.The box alternates the display of the portrait and hanko of the two most prominent Karakuri master craftsmen, Yoshiyuki Ninomiya and Akio Kamei looking out a window. The front of the drawer is inlaid...

Cube KW2 (KW-9) by Hideaki Kawashima (Karakuri)Hand-crafted in cherry, purple heart, and unusually, cucumber tree!!Kawashima made this in 2011 with completely new structure and storage space design.  Both the movement and the storage space are new to the Karakuri Cube series. New in original box with all inserts.  Details here: KW-9Shipping by USPS, payment via Zelle, check or money order.  If you have any questions, please ask them before bidding. :-)   See all active listings here...

Packaging and insert are included.  Per the Karakuri website:Bara-Bara Box with SnowmancraftsmanOsamu KashoITEMOS-18Created11/2019Size(box body)60×60×85 mmSize(storage part)30×48×6 mm,30×48×10mmMaterialwalnut, chanchin, oak, mizuki (dogwood), magnolia, sono kelingFacebookTwitter共有This work was designed as a Christmas present for 2019.5 sections come apart to reveal 2 storage areas. You have to remember the exact moves in order to put it back together. I chose colorful woods and put a...

Dashi, like many of the best Karakuri Idea Contest winners, reflects an item from Japanese culture.  In this case Dashi is designed to look like a traditional hand plane style bonito shaver.  It has three parts: the main cutter box, a lid that covers it, and a piece of bonito fish.  The box has a drawer that doesn’t seem to come out, which is where the bonito flakes would accumulate for an actual bonito shaver.  As with the best Idea Contest winners, the theme and puzzle are connected, her...

Christmas present from 2023 - Daiki ArimuraFun little Christmas box with a tricky opening.Puzzle will be shipped in a sturdy cardboard box with plenty of bubble wrap.Buyer pays shipping determined after close. Please do not pay until shipping cost is confirmed.Paypal only - friends and family is preferred.Please contact me if you want more photos or information