On this page: Box contents - Yanoman website - Identifying Yanoman puzzles - Special orders
Yanoman was the first company to start making puzzles in Japan - in 1973. They have a wide range, and have explored many different forms of puzzle, such as the new spherical ones. For a few more historical details, see the manufacturers page.
Box contents
In days gone by you opened a jigsaw puzzle box, and inside were just the pieces! But Japanese puzzles come with various extra bits and pieces. The assumption is that you will only do the puzzle once, then glue it together for wall mounting, to impress your friends.
1 Most important - the pieces
2 Mini-poster (about A4/US letter size)
3 Postcard: instructions, and how to get a replacement for a missing piece. (Details on request)
4 "Service" coupon: collect enough of them, and you get a free puzzle. (More details on request)
5 "Jigsaw puzzle paste" (principal ingredient polyvinyl alcohol - PVA). Really speaking this is not paste, but a clear glue.
6 Mystery object
Doing the puzzle
Ignore the strict instructions to do the edge pieces first: put the bits together in any order you like. If you want to display the puzzle, you can use the glue to stick it together. Spread a sheet of clean but unwanted paper under the completed puzzle, with the puzzle the right way up. (Some people say it's best to do this on a sheet of glass, which the puzzle won't stick to.) Then pour the glue over the front of the puzzle: spread it out carefully with the mystery object, so all the joints get neatly filled with glue. It should dry with a nice glossy finish. It is a good idea to practice on a small puzzle before you try this on a really large one.
Disclaimer: I have very limited experience of gluing puzzles - I usually break them up to do again some day. But I have had some success with trompe l'oeil murals!
Please note: Actual box contents may vary - if you find any discrepancies, please let us know. In particular, only some Yanoman puzzles include the "mini-poster": in others the picture is printed directly on the bottom of the box.
Website
Yanoman website: http://www.yanoman.com
The Yanoman site has separate catalogs (also accessible with the tabs at the top of the Yanoman page) for different types of puzzle.
The small numbers in parenthesis show the approximate number of puzzles in each category. (These may be missing or out of date.)
Regular puzzles
Science: Space puzzles (4) (Blank puzzles for astronaut training)
Scenic puzzles: Japan (59) - The world (13)
Artists: Kagaya Yutaka (15) - Kajita Tatsuji (2) - Nagano Tsuyoshi (3) - Ozuma Kaname (3) - Shimakura Jin (4) - Ayako Tsuge flower art (2) - Worldwide artists (10) - Saito Ryota (2) - Maze detective Pierre (2)
Classic art: Classics of western art (1) - Japanese art (1)
Character puzzles: Disney Studios (156) - Wachifield (28) - Moomins (23) - Minions (42) - Anime and game characters (62)
Pets: Lovely animals (24)
Floral and blank: Floral arrangements (14)
Spherical and 4D puzzles
Astronomy: Globe puzzles (4) - Heavenly bodies and starmaps (7)
Characters: Disney (109) - Wachifield (20) - Sanrio (2) - Moomins (23) - Minions (6) - Anime and game characters (2)
Solid puzzles: Balance puzzles (9) - Sphere puzzles (10) - Lampshade puzzles (16) - Puzzle lanterns (43) - Art stand puzzles (2) - Illuminated globe puzzles (4) - Translucent plastic puzzles (24) (with stand) - Puzzle blocks (4) - Puzzle clocks (5) - Petit Puzzle Atelier (30) - Canvas style panel (24)
Puzzles by character
Disney: Regular puzzles (156) - 3D puzzles (97)
Moomins: Regular puzzles (22) - 3D puzzles (17)
Wachifield: Regular puzzles (29) - 3D puzzles (15)
Sanrio: 3D puzzles (1)
Minions: Regular puzzles (39) - 3D puzzles (6)
Touken Ranbu: Puzzles (60)
Evangelion: Puzzles (4)
Macross: Puzzles (4)
Icons used on the Yanoman site for puzzle features
 | Glow-in-the-dark |  | Vivid printing ("Kaleido") |
 | Large pieces |  | Hexachrome printing |
 | Small pieces |  | The colours in this puzzle change with temperature |
 | Wooden puzzle |  | "Prism Art" clear puzzles |
 | "Petit" puzzles (micro pieces) |
(The blue icons apply; any pale grey versions are just placeholders)
(Updated February 2020)
Identifying Yanoman puzzles
Yanoman codes generally have two digits for the number of pieces, plus a puzzle code: 05- for 500 pieces, 10- for 1000 pieces, etc. Imaginatorium Shop codes simply omit the hyphen.
