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Jigsaw puzzles from Japan
On this page: Galactic railroad - Starry tales - Heavenly bodies - About the artist
 © Kagaya 1000: Fantasy railroad in autumnA portrayal of one of the best-known works of fantasy fiction by Miyazawa Kenji, Japan's much-loved poet and author of children's literature. The original title is Ginga tetsudô no yoru, probably best known in the West from the anime film "Night on the Galactic Railroad" (but there are many variations on this translation). Kagaya portrays the train in earthbound mode, yet in a surreal setting. Wikipedia article on Miyazawa Kenji This is a glow-in-the-dark puzzle.  In stockA Yanoman puzzle: 1000 pieces; 75 x 50 cm (30" x 20") Code: Y101042 (10-1042 on box) Retail price ¥3900 (approx. US$45.35 €37.14 £30.23) Shipping from ¥1200 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$13.95 €11.43 £9.30) Buy this puzzle Add to basket All about ordering (please read first) |
 © Kagaya 1000: Southern CrossKagaya's portrayal of the Southern Cross, one of the stations visited on the fantasy journey in Ginga tetsudô no yoru by Miyazawa Kenji, probably best known in the West from the anime film "Night on the Galactic Railroad." Kagaya's image makes it reminiscent of a Christian cross, but in the story this is the small constellation of the southern hemisphere, properly known as Crux. Wikipedia article on Miyazawa Kenji, Japan's much-loved poet and author of children's literature This is a glow-in-the-dark puzzle. In stockA Yanoman puzzle: 1000 pieces; 75 x 50 cm (30" x 20") Code: Y10993 (10-993 on box) Retail price ¥3900 (approx. US$45.35 €37.14 £30.23) Shipping from ¥1200 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$13.95 €11.43 £9.30) Buy this puzzle Add to basket All about ordering (please read first) |
 © Kagaya 1000: Andromeda
The prayer of a princess - Andromeda gazes wistfully at a temple set in the sea...  This is a glow-in-the-dark puzzle. This puzzle is printed with more ink colours for extra-vivid effect. In stockA Yanoman puzzle: 1000 pieces; 75 x 50 cm (30" x 20") Code: Y101103 (10-1103 on box) Retail price ¥3900 (approx. US$45.35 €37.14 £30.23) Shipping from ¥1200 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$13.95 €11.43 £9.30) Buy this puzzle Add to basket All about ordering (please read first) |
 © Kagaya 1000: Kaguya-himeKaguyahime ("Princess of the shining night") gazes into the moonlit night. The story of which she is heroine, the "Bamboo cutter's tale", dates back a thousand years, to the great cultural flowering that was the Heian period. In the story, she was found as a tiny baby inside a bamboo trunk. In Kagaya's version extra colour is provided by a scattering of brilliant red maple leaves, and the almost dazzling light of the moon puts the figure in near-silhouette.  Good articles at Wikipedia: The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter - Heian period This is a glow-in-the-dark puzzle. In stockA Yanoman puzzle: 1000 pieces; 50 x 75 cm (20" x 30") Code: Y101156 (10-1156 on box) Retail price ¥3900 (approx. US$45.35 €37.14 £30.23) Shipping from ¥1000 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$11.63 €9.52 £7.75) Buy this puzzle Add to basket All about ordering (please read first) |
 © Kagaya 1000: Pegasus - wings of freedomPegasus, the winged horse of Greek myth, flies far above the clouds...  This is a glow-in-the-dark puzzle. This puzzle is printed with more ink colours for extra-vivid effect. In stockA Yanoman puzzle: 1000 pieces; 50 x 75 cm (20" x 30") Code: Y101130 (10-1130 on box) Retail price ¥3900 (approx. US$45.35 €37.14 £30.23) Shipping from ¥1000 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$11.63 €9.52 £7.75) Buy this puzzle Add to basket All about ordering (please read first) |
 © Kagaya 1000: Vega, princess of weavingThis is Orihime, the princess of weaving, who from ancient Chinese legend is one of the brightest stars in the sky, and is sadly separated from her two children and their father by the river we call the Milky Way — this love story is the origin of the Tanabata festival. Though Chinese and Western myths are of course generally independent, the ancients saw the same sky and the same stars, so it is easy to identify her as the star we call Vega (a name with an Arabic origin, by the way: remember that the ancient Arab astronomers were part of the civilisation of the West). Kagaya portrays her at work, weaving an iridescent fabric under the silvery moon... This is a glow-in-the-dark puzzle. In stockA Yanoman puzzle: 1000 pieces; 50 x 75 cm (20" x 30") Code: Y101173 (10-1173 on box) Retail price ¥3900 (approx. US$45.35 €37.14 £30.23) Shipping from ¥1000 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$11.63 €9.52 £7.75) Buy this puzzle Add to basket All about ordering (please read first) |
 © Kagaya 1000: Venus - the morning starThe Morning Star was the old name for Venus as it appeared in the morning – of course the same planet in the evening was known as the Evening Star.  This is a glow-in-the-dark puzzle. This puzzle is printed with more ink colours for extra-vivid effect. In stockA Yanoman puzzle: 1000 pieces; 50 x 75 cm (20" x 30") Code: Y101136 (10-1136 on box) Retail price ¥3900 (approx. US$45.35 €37.14 £30.23) Shipping from ¥1000 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$11.63 €9.52 £7.75) Buy this puzzle Add to basket All about ordering (please read first) |
 © Kagaya 500: Artemis, goddess of the moonArtemis is also the Greek goddess of the hunt - and here she draws her bow exactly to the rim of the moon...  This is a glow-in-the-dark puzzle. This puzzle is printed with more ink colours for extra-vivid effect. In stockA Yanoman puzzle: 500 pieces; 38 x 53 cm (15" x 21") Code: Y05873 (05-873 on box) Retail price ¥2500 (approx. US$29.07 €23.81 £19.38) Shipping from ¥800 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$9.30 €7.62 £6.20) Buy this puzzle Add to basket All about ordering (please read first) |
 © Kagaya Studio 3000: Celestial worldA depiction of all the constellations of the sky, in Kagaya's usual vivid style. Each constellation is given its astronomical Latin name on the puzzle, and there is a key to the Japanese names on the back of the box.  This puzzle has smaller pieces than the standard size. This is a glow-in-the-dark puzzle. In stockA Yanoman puzzle: 3000 pieces; 107 x 77 cm (42" x 30") Code: Y3042 (30-42 on box) Retail price ¥6000 (approx. US$69.77 €57.14 £46.51) Shipping from ¥1950 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$22.67 €18.57 £15.12) Buy this puzzle Add to basket All about ordering (please read first) |
 © Kagaya 1000: The moonThe moon in beautiful detail. All features visible in a small telescope are marked with their atronomical names. Not a very easy puzzle: there is a huge total area of black... This is a glow-in-the-dark puzzle. In stockA Yanoman puzzle: 1000 pieces; 50 x 75 cm (20" x 30") Code: Y101125 (10-1125 on box) Retail price ¥3900 (approx. US$45.35 €37.14 £30.23) Shipping from ¥1000 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$11.63 €9.52 £7.75) Buy this puzzle Add to basket All about ordering (please read first) |
 © Kagaya 1000: The EarthKagaya's rendering of the earth—realistic, yet clearly a personal interpretation. Not a very easy puzzle: there is a huge total area of black... This is a glow-in-the-dark puzzle. In stockA Yanoman puzzle: 1000 pieces; 50 x 75 cm (20" x 30") Code: Y101131 (10-1131 on box) Retail price ¥3900 (approx. US$45.35 €37.14 £30.23) Shipping from ¥1000 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$11.63 €9.52 £7.75) Buy this puzzle Add to basket All about ordering (please read first) |
Born in Saitama (just north of Tokyo) in 1968, Kagaya spent his childhood in wonderment of the stars in the sky, and never stopped painting them. He has had a successful career as an illustrator for astronomical books and magazines, and many of his works have been turned into jigsaw puzzles, among other products. Since 1996, he has worked exclusively in the digital medium, using a Macintosh. Perhaps that is why he does not appear to sign his pictures.
He goes by his family name; his given name appears to be Yutaka, but in English you will also find him called Joh Kagaya (Jô is the Chinese reading of his name).
The Kagaya Studio site includes lots more information, including some in English.
He has been honoured by having an asteroid (no. 11949) named after him. It's a long way away, but only a few kilometres across, so you could walk round it in a day. (Here's the technical information)
Note: The translations of titles are mine.
Try the Yanoman website. If you find another puzzle you want, please ask me about special orders.
For reference: you can view all the Kagaya puzzles that are out of print in the Attic.
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Created March 2005 - Updated from time to time - WDG validated