This is a Karakuri switch box.
You must want to turn it ON even if you don’t know what will happen, don’t you?
Even if you try to move the lever, it just moves slightly.
Can you turn it ON and open the drawer?
It isn’t too difficult to solve it but you will notice a kind of joke when you solve it…

◆Waku Waku grand prix　　”Seesaw Box”

Original idea by Takeshi Iijima
Hand-crafted by Yoh Kakuda (Karakuri Creation Group)
Little bears are playing on a seesaw.
They are brothers and they were born at the same date and grew up the same way.
Their weigh are also same.
The tilt of the seesaw is a hint to open the drawer.

◆Unique grand prix　　”Peace comes from shaking hands”

Original idea by Shingo Terui
Hand-crafted by Shou Sugimoto(Karakuri Creation Group)

The size of the hand is as same as real one and it has some tricks.
By shaking hands with it, you may find the solution for both opening the box and making the world more peaceful…

16th Karakuri Box Idea Contest Screening Report

Naoaki Takashima,
Member of jury group

Congratulations grand prix award winners!

Thank you for all applicants for 16th Karakuri Box Idea Contest and all members of Karakuri Creation Group who converted the applicants’ ideas to real Karakuri boxes with excellent detailed design and fabrication skills. I also thank all supporters of this contest.
We are pleased to announce that there were 144 entries for this contest.
The four jury members performed for the first-stage screening were Tadayuki Sakamoto, Tsutomu Onozawa, Hiroshi Iwahara and I. We gathered on April 9 at a room in the factory of Karakuri Creation Group.
The entries of this contest submitted to us were shown not the concrete design of Karakuri box but only the idea which explain how the Karakuri box should work.
So, at the first-stage screening, each jury considered whether the proposed ideas will be fun to play or not when the idea become real, as well as whether they are innovative or not.
Ideas of Karakuri box screened as a result of the first-stage screening was sent to the members of the Karakuri Creation Group for performance of the second-stage screening. The feasibility of manufacturing of each idea of them were assessed by them. And finally three ideas (“ON!”, “Seesaw Box”, and “Peace comes from shaking hands”) were selected for detail design and manufacturing. The members of Karakuri Creation Group had converted the original ideas into concrete Karakuri boxes by close contact with the applicants who created the original ideas.
It should be noted that the name of grand prix given to each of the three selected ideas defind by the craftpeople who performed the second-stage screening does not mean the ranking of them. Each idea has its incomparable wonderful features. Please enjoy each of them by manipulating with your own hands.
As I wrote in the Screening Report for previous contest, I believe that the winning entries of this idea contests continue to provide fresh stimulation to the professionals of the members of the Karakuri Creation Group.

August, 2024
Naoaki Takashima

◆Karakuri Idea Contest 15th / Click here

●Watch the other annual winnersClick here