Kumiki interlocking wood puzzles

Description:	These Japanese puzzles are called kumiki, meaning “to join wood together”. Because of the common threat of earthquakes in Japan, traditional craftsmen developed ingenious ways of interlocking wood joints rather than using nails to help ensure stability. In the late 19th century, Tsunetaro Yamanaka (1874-1954) applied this concept to puzzles. He designed and constructed intricate puzzles that resembled buildings and vehicles, not just abstract shapes like spheres and cubes. Today, his descendants continue to carry on the tradition, including his great grandson, Tadaaki Yamanaka. There are four different Kumiki design techniques: oshi, mawashi, kendon and sayubiki. The first means push—these puzzles have a key piece which has to be pushed out. Puzzles based on the mawashi principle have a piece which has to be twisted in order to solve the puzzle. In kendon puzzles, you have to remove a piece by moving up and down or left to right. Sayubiki requires two key pieces to be removed simultaneously, with the key piece always skillfully hidden.
Source:	http://www.digitalindy.org/cdm/ref/collection/tcm/id/271
Collection:	The Children's Museum of Indianapolis
Rights:	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/;
Copyright:	Creative Commons (CC By-SA 3.0);
Geography:	Japan
Subjects:	Puzzles Japan

Further information on this record can be found at its source.