The Attic

© Hiroyuki Suwahara

The jolly seven gods of fortune (Suwahara)

The Seven Lucky Gods (Shichi-fuku-jin) have left their treasure boat, and assembled for a group photo, with Mount Fuji conveniently in the background. Suwahara makes them all look exceedingly jolly - here's the lineup:

Top row, left to right: Bishamonten, Indian god of war and treasure - Benzaiten, Indian goddess of the arts - Jurojin, Chinese god of longevity

Front row, left to right: Fukurokuju, Chinese god of wisdom - Daikokuten, Indian (Mahakala) god of five cereals - Ebisu, Japanese god of commerce - Hotei, Chinese god of happiness

Born in Ibaraki, in 1969, Suwahara embarked on a career as a freeleance illustrator in 1996. He has specialised in historical figures, especially from the Three Kingdoms story, and brings a very modern technique to some traditional themes.

Suwahara is his family name.

This puzzle has smaller pieces than the standard size.

Permanently unavailable
A Beverly puzzle: 2000 pieces; 720 x 490 mm (28" x 19")
Code: BS62501 (S62-501 on package)
Retail price ¥3000

More puzzles like this one

© Hiroyuki Suwahara

Battle of Kawanakajima (Suwahara)

The dramatic moment in the historical fourth battle of Kawanakajima at which Uesugi Kenshin bursts into the headquarters of his opponent Takeda Shingen, who has only a signalling fan with which to fend off the attack.

This battle, in 1561, was one of a series between the Uesugi and Takeda clans, part of the very bloody infighting that eventually led to the unification of Japan under the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Wikipedia has an excellent article: Battles of Kawanakajima

Born in Ibaraki, in 1969, Suwahara embarked on a career as a freeleance illustrator in 1996. He has specialised in historical figures, especially from the Three Kingdoms story, and brings a very modern technique to some traditional themes.

Suwahara is his family name.

This puzzle has smaller pieces than the standard size.

Permanently unavailable
A Beverly puzzle: 2000 pieces; 720 x 490 mm (28" x 19")
Code: BS62502 (S62-502 on package)
Retail price ¥3000

More puzzles like this one

© Hiroyuki Suwahara

All-seeing dragon (Suwahara)

A dazzling golden dragon, fearsome as ever! And auspicious...

The original title is literally "Dragon that sees in eight directions", meaning the eight cardinal points of the compass. This refers to the ability of the dragon, one of the four Chinese protector gods, to watch everything at the same time.

Born in Ibaraki, in 1969, Suwahara embarked on a career as a freeleance illustrator in 1996. He has specialised in historical figures, especially from the Three Kingdoms story, and brings a very modern technique to some traditional themes.

Suwahara is his family name.

This puzzle has smaller pieces than the standard size.

Permanently unavailable
A Beverly puzzle: 2000 pieces; 720 x 490 mm (28" x 19")
Code: BS62506 (S62-506 on package)
Retail price ¥3000

More puzzles like this one

© Hiroyuki Suwahara

Naoe Kanetsugu (Suwahara)

Star of the 2009 TV drama Tenchijin, Naoe Kanetsugu (1560–1620) was an important samurai of the period of transition from the Warring States to the Tokugawa Shogunate, becoming pageboy to Uesugi Kenshin, then serving the Uesugi clan for the rest of his life.

Naoe, in the centre of the picture, was allied with Ishida Mitsunari (left) in the Battle of Sekigahara which established the Tokugawa Shogunate and began the Edo period. Despite being on the losing side, Naoe was praised even by the victor Tokugawa Ieyasu (right) for his skill in retreat.

Wikipedia article: Naoe Kanetsugu

Born in Ibaraki, in 1969, Suwahara embarked on a career as a freeleance illustrator in 1996. He has specialised in historical figures, especially from the Three Kingdoms story, and brings a very modern technique to some traditional themes.

Suwahara is his family name.

This puzzle has smaller pieces than the standard size.

Permanently unavailable
A Beverly puzzle: 2000 pieces; 720 x 490 mm (28" x 19")
Code: BS62508 (S62-508 on package)
Retail price ¥3000

More puzzles like this one

© Hiroyuki Suwahara

Battle of Red Cliffs (Suwahara)

No doubt inspired by the blockbuster Chinese movie (2008) based on the same theme, this portrays the principal characters in this battle leading up to the Three Kingdoms period of ancient Chinese history (around AD 210). The precise location of the "Red cliffs" is not clear, but somewhere on the Yangtze River. The incident portrayed in the background is the firing of the ships belonging to the (northern) imperial commander Cao Cao, who had them bound together to prevent seasickness among his soldiers, with catastrophic results.

Characters from left to right: Zhuge Liang (referred to here by his "courtesy name" Kongming), Liu Bei, Cao Cao, Sun Quan, Zhou Yu

Wikipedia article: Battle of Red Cliffs

Born in Ibaraki, in 1969, Suwahara embarked on a career as a freeleance illustrator in 1996. He has specialised in historical figures, especially from the Three Kingdoms story, and brings a very modern technique to some traditional themes.

Suwahara is his family name.

This puzzle has smaller pieces than the standard size.

Permanently unavailable
A Beverly puzzle: 2000 pieces; 720 x 490 mm (28" x 19")
Code: BS62509 (S62-509 on package)
Retail price ¥3000

More puzzles like this one

© Hiroyuki Suwahara

Fiery dragon - wild tiger (Suwahara)

The traditional adversaries: the tiger quite naturalistic, against the mythical dragon. All set against a background of fire and thunder.

Born in Ibaraki, in 1969, Suwahara embarked on a career as a freeleance illustrator in 1996. He has specialised in historical figures, especially from the Three Kingdoms story, and brings a very modern technique to some traditional themes.

Suwahara is his family name.

Permanently unavailable
A Beverly puzzle: 1000 pieces; 720 x 490 mm (28" x 19")
Code: B61269 (61-269 on package)
Retail price ¥3000

More puzzles like this one

© Hiroyuki Suwahara

The four protector-gods (Suwahara)

The traditional gods portrayed in vibrant colour: Seiryu the blue dragon of the east, Byakko the white tiger of the west, Suzaku the red phoenix of the south, and Genbu the black snake/turtle of the north. The "blue" of Seiryu is actually a rather ambiguous term, and here he sports a suit of glistening verdigris.

Born in Ibaraki, in 1969, Suwahara embarked on a career as a freeleance illustrator in 1996. He has specialised in historical figures, especially from the Three Kingdoms story, and brings a very modern technique to some traditional themes.

Suwahara is his family name.

Permanently unavailable
A Beverly puzzle: 1000 pieces; 720 x 490 mm (28" x 19")
Code: B61270 (61-270 on package)
Retail price ¥3000

More puzzles like this one

© Hiroyuki Suwahara

Gods of wind and thunder (Suwahara)

Two venerable Shinto deities - Raijin is the god of thunder and lightning, and Fûjin the god of wind. The artistic style is modern, but these are the traditional poses: Raijin with his circle of drums to beat, and Fûjin with the bag with which he somehow creates the wind.

Born in Ibaraki, in 1969, Suwahara embarked on a career as a freeleance illustrator in 1996. He has specialised in historical figures, especially from the Three Kingdoms story, and brings a very modern technique to some traditional themes.

Suwahara is his family name.

Permanently unavailable
A Beverly puzzle: 1000 pieces; 720 x 490 mm (28" x 19")
Code: B61281 (61-281 on package)
Retail price ¥3000

More puzzles like this one

© Hiroyuki Suwahara

Dawn Fuji and hawk (Suwahara)

Suwahara gives a vibrant touch to this classic composition - red Mt. Fuji at dawn, as a hawk soars over the sea of clouds.

The hawk is an obvious symbol of strength, but is also associated with good fortune through another piece of wordplay. In Japanese, the same word, tobu, is used both for "leap" and "fly", so the hawk's high flight sounds like a "leap of progress" (to make a gross simplification).

Born in Ibaraki, in 1969, Suwahara embarked on a career as a freeleance illustrator in 1996. He has specialised in historical figures, especially from the Three Kingdoms story, and brings a very modern technique to some traditional themes.

Suwahara is his family name.

Permanently unavailable
A Beverly puzzle: 1000 pieces; 720 x 490 mm (28" x 19")
Code: B61293 (61-293 on package)
Retail price ¥3000

More puzzles like this one

© Hiroyuki Suwahara

Gods of treasure (Suwahara)

Just two of the seven gods appear here: Daikokuten, bringer of harvests and prosperity, with his magic mallet and bags of treasure, and Benzaiten, goddess of art and culture, who as usual is playing a lute. There is red coral in the background, and treasure in coin scattered around, while the scene is completed by a couple of white rats, Chinese calendar animal for 2008.

Born in Ibaraki, in 1969, Suwahara embarked on a career as a freeleance illustrator in 1996. He has specialised in historical figures, especially from the Three Kingdoms story, and brings a very modern technique to some traditional themes.

Suwahara is his family name.

Permanently unavailable
A Beverly puzzle: 1000 pieces; 720 x 490 mm (28" x 19")
Code: B61294 (61-294 on package)
Retail price ¥3000

More puzzles like this one

© Hiroyuki Suwahara

Gods of treasure (Suwahara)

Just two of the seven gods appear here: Daikokuten, bringer of harvests and prosperity, with his magic mallet and bags of treasure, and Benzaiten, goddess of art and culture, who as usual is playing a lute. There is red coral in the background, and treasure in coin scattered around, while the scene is completed by a couple of white rats, Chinese calendar animal for 2008.

Born in Ibaraki, in 1969, Suwahara embarked on a career as a freeleance illustrator in 1996. He has specialised in historical figures, especially from the Three Kingdoms story, and brings a very modern technique to some traditional themes.

Suwahara is his family name.

Permanently unavailable
A Beverly puzzle: 300 pieces; 380 x 260 mm (15" x 10")
Code: B63216 (63-216 on package)
Retail price ¥1400

More puzzles like this one