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Jigsaw puzzles from Japan

Fantasy Art by Kagaya

On this page: Galactic railroad - Starry tales - Heavenly bodies - About the artist

Miyazawa Kenji - Galactic Railroad

Fantasy railroad in autumn
© Kagaya

1000: Fantasy railroad in autumn

A 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 stock
A 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)
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The Southern Cross
© Kagaya

1000: Southern Cross

Kagaya'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 stock
A 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)
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Starry tales

Andromeda
© Kagaya

1000: Andromeda

"In a long-gone golden age, heaven and earth were as one, a shared home for gods and mortals..."

The prayer of a princess - Andromeda gazes wistfully at a temple set in the sea...

Detail

This is a glow-in-the-dark puzzle.

This puzzle is printed with more ink colours for extra-vivid effect.

In stock
A 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)
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Kaguya-hime, from the woodcutter's tale
© Kagaya

1000: Kaguya-hime

Kaguyahime ("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.

Detail

Good articles at Wikipedia: The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter - Heian period

This is a glow-in-the-dark puzzle.

In stock
A 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)
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Pegasus - wings of freedom
© Kagaya

1000: Pegasus - wings of freedom

Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek myth, flies far above the clouds...

Detail

This is a glow-in-the-dark puzzle.

This puzzle is printed with more ink colours for extra-vivid effect.

In stock
A 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)
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Vega, princess of weaving
© Kagaya

1000: Vega, princess of weaving

This 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 stock
A 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)
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Venus - the morning star
© Kagaya

1000: Venus - the morning star

The 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.

Detail

This is a glow-in-the-dark puzzle.

This puzzle is printed with more ink colours for extra-vivid effect.

In stock
A 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)
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Artemis, goddess of the moon
© Kagaya

500: Artemis, goddess of the moon

Artemis is also the Greek goddess of the hunt - and here she draws her bow exactly to the rim of the moon...

Detail

This is a glow-in-the-dark puzzle.

This puzzle is printed with more ink colours for extra-vivid effect.

In stock
A 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)
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Heavenly bodies

Celestial world
© Kagaya Studio

3000: Celestial world

A 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.

Detail

This puzzle has smaller pieces than the standard size.

This is a glow-in-the-dark puzzle.

In stock
A 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)
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The moon
© Kagaya

1000: The moon

The 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 stock
A 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)
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The Earth
© Kagaya

1000: The Earth

Kagaya'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 stock
A 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)
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Kagaya Yutaka

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.

Looking for other Kagaya puzzles?

Try the Yanoman website. If you find another puzzle you want, please ask me about special orders.

Deleted puzzles

For reference: you can view all the Kagaya puzzles that are out of print in the Attic.

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