Himitsu Baku of Hakone

The Himitsu Baku means "Personal Secret Box", and is a traditional Japanese puzzle box that was originally designed more than 100 years ago, in 1893 in the Hakone region in Japan. The Hakone Mountains have been renowned for the great number of different trees that exist there, and the Himitsu Baku Personal Secret Box takes advantages of all of the different colors and textures of wood that can be found in the Hakome Mountains in order to create elaborate boxes with beautiful hand-carved geometric patterns on each face of the box. Not only is the Himitsu Baku puzzle box concept popular for the puzzling entertainment that it offers, but it is also valued as a Yosegi-Zaiku, which is a mosaic woodwork that is usually applied to chests, boxes, trays and other small handicrafts. Read More...