Update!

(15 August) The database should now be fixed, so there are no more stray funny characters... but there may still be glitches. I just discovered that all of the Peanuts puzzles had disappeared, because "artist=peanuts" was not matching "Peanuts"; so there is more to do in sorting out case-insensitive matching.

Database problem!

Apologies! A recent database upgrade has left lots of Japanese text corrupted, and also some variant characters, such as the e-acute in "Pokémon," not showing correctly. I am working to correct this but may take some days...

申し訳ありません 現在、データーベースの問題でほとんどのパズルの詳細などの日本語が文字化けになっています。修復するまで何日かかかるかも知れません。ご了承ください。

Jigsaw puzzles from Japan

Art by Fujishiro Seiji

"Fantasy in light and shade"

On this page: 500 pieces - 300 pieces - About the artist - Separate page for 1000 pieces

500 pieces

Moonlight reverberation

A lone elfin cellist sits in the moonbeam...

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 500 pieces; 380 x 530 mm (15" x 21")
Code: A05241 (500-241 on package)
Retail price ¥2500 (approx. US$16.89 €15.63 £13.09)

All about ordering (please read first)

Hiroshima dome

A rather more sombre scene than usual — the atom bomb dome in Hiroshima is a reminder to some of the appalling things that happened in the last century. As always, though, Fujishiro adds playful touches: as a thousand cranes symbolise peace, we can imagine the piper is piping a jolly tune...

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 500 pieces; 530 x 380 mm (21" x 15")
Code: A05256 (500-256 on package)
Retail price ¥2500 (approx. US$16.89 €15.63 £13.09)

All about ordering (please read first)

Froggie's drive

Keroyon is the frog's name, because Japanese frogs say kero-kero instead of "ribbit" or similar. Anyway, a jolly outing...

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 500 pieces; 530 x 380 mm (21" x 15")
Code: A05242 (500-242 on package)
Retail price ¥2500 (approx. US$16.89 €15.63 £13.09)

All about ordering (please read first)

Genoan sea

The port of Genoa, with castles, old ships with the English flag, and some other ships, and some other flags. Who knows quite what is going on... but perhaps that is the point?!

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 500 pieces; 380 x 530 mm (15" x 21")
Code: A05286 (500-286 on package)
Retail price ¥2500 (approx. US$16.89 €15.63 £13.09)

All about ordering (please read first)

300 pieces

Cats on the kotatsu

Essential for getting through the severe winters of Japan's mountainous regions, the kotatsu is a kind of heated table, with a quilt to contain the feet. It's not surprising that the cats love it!

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 300 pieces; 380 x 260 mm (15" x 10")
Code: A03147 (300-147 on package)
Retail price ¥1800 (approx. US$12.16 €11.25 £9.42)

All about ordering (please read first)

Elfin paradise

A very musical paradise! The chorus of pipers is supported by a number of pianos and harps scattered among the trees.

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 300 pieces; 380 x 260 mm (15" x 10")
Code: A03216 (300-216 on package)
Retail price ¥1800 (approx. US$12.16 €11.25 £9.42)

All about ordering (please read first)

The bridge of dreams

There's a northern European feel to this town, but of course the story told is pure Fujishiro fantasy...

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 300 pieces; 260 x 380 mm (10" x 15")
Code: A03217 (300-217 on package)
Retail price ¥1800 (approx. US$12.16 €11.25 £9.42)

All about ordering (please read first)

The elfin band

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

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 300 pieces; 380 x 260 mm (15" x 10")
Code: A03239 (300-239 on package)
Retail price ¥2000 (approx. US$13.51 €12.50 £10.47)

All about ordering (please read first)

The joy of living

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

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 300 pieces; 380 x 260 mm (15" x 10")
Code: A03240 (300-240 on package)
Retail price ¥2000 (approx. US$13.51 €12.50 £10.47)

All about ordering (please read first)

White piano in the wind

The white piano has four (playerless) double basses one side, and four unicycles the other, plus rocking horses in the sky and all the usual Fujishiro fun...

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 300 pieces; 380 x 260 mm (15" x 10")
Code: A03257 (300-257 on package)
Retail price ¥1800 (approx. US$12.16 €11.25 £9.42)

All about ordering (please read first)

Filligree fireworks

These are a special type of hand-held firework, a gentle sparkler that emits a fine tracery of orange sparks...

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 300 pieces; 260 x 380 mm (10" x 15")
Code: A03146 (300-146 on package)
Retail price ¥1800 (approx. US$12.16 €11.25 £9.42)

All about ordering (please read first)

Alice's heart

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 300 pieces; 260 x 380 mm (10" x 15")
Code: A03199 (300-199 on package)
Retail price ¥1800 (approx. US$12.16 €11.25 £9.42)

All about ordering (please read first)

Three-piano nostalgia

Perhaps the Russian Romantics? The pianos are all decorated with the onion towers that are a symbol of a Czarist past...

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 300 pieces; 380 x 260 mm (15" x 10")
Code: A03293 (300-293 on package)
Retail price ¥2000 (approx. US$13.51 €12.50 £10.47)

All about ordering (please read first)

Lavender dreams

Windmills among the lavender fields...

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 300 pieces; 260 x 380 mm (10" x 15")
Code: A03137 (300-137 on package)
Retail price ¥1800 (approx. US$12.16 €11.25 £9.42)

All about ordering (please read first)

Fledgling ponies in light and shade

Ponies leave the nest in a huge tree; could the modern buildings in the background be a school?

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 300 pieces; 260 x 380 mm (10" x 15")
Code: A03294 (300-294 on package)
Retail price ¥2000 (approx. US$13.51 €12.50 £10.47)

All about ordering (please read first)

Cocktail of love

A cocktail glass and a bottle of champagne, and a cellist to complete the whimsy...

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 300 pieces; 260 x 380 mm (10" x 15")
Code: A03337 (300-337 on package)
Retail price ¥2000 (approx. US$13.51 €12.50 £10.47)

All about ordering (please read first)

Fujishiro Seiji

Born in 1924, Fujishiro has had a long and productive career as an illustrator - producing many children's books, and creating his own brand of fantasy along the way. From an early involvement with shadow puppetry, he developed his own unique style: he calls these kage-e (literally "shadow pictures"), but his is a backlit world not of black and white (or grey), but of wonderful translucent colours, apparently made mostly from tissue paper.

As of January 2020, he is still active in his nineties, and his work has appeared all over the world.

News item from February 2005

Here's a review of his show at the Japan Information and Culture Center in Washington DC: "Symphony of Light and Shadow" (from the Washington Post).

Note: The translations of titles are mine.