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
Imaginatorium Shop
Contents Page - Shop Index and External Links
On this page: What's what - Puzzle themes - More about jigsaws - Other puzzle related sites - Miscellaneous links
This is a guide to all pages in the Shop - use the links at the bottom of the page to explore other parts of the Imaginatorium.
What's what - the navigation links
- Shop front - the introduction page
- Contents - this page
- Search - search for puzzles by various categories, and display thumbnails
- FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions about Imaginatorium Shop
- Contact us - contact us with problems, suggestions, or anything else you want to say
Scenic puzzles (photographs)
- Scenic index - Thumbnail guide to scenic puzzle pages
- Cherry blossom : Harbinger of spring
- Flowers : Flowers in the landscape
- Summer : The great outdoors
- Autumn : Dazzling red maples
- Winter : Snow and ice
- Mt. Fuji : Japan's iconic mountain
- Japanese castles
- Temples and shrines : Temple buildings from both Buddhist and Shinto traditions
- Trains : Railways of Japan
- Mountain roads : The old routes over Japan's mountainous backbone, and the bridges along them
- Bridges : Japanese bridges, both ancient and modern
- Tokyo : Sights of Japan's capital
- Kyoto scenes : The temples and gardens of Japan's old capital
- Fireworks : Spectacular displays are a regular feature of the summer
- Scenic 300 : Other scenic puzzles up to 300 pieces
- Scenic 500 : Other scenic puzzles around 500 pieces
- Scenic 1000 : Other scenic puzzles around 1000 pieces
- Scenic 1500+ : Other scenic puzzles 1500 pieces and larger
- Exotic : Exotic locations around the world
- Japanese art index - Thumbnail guide to artists and themes
Traditional themes
- Traditional : Red Fuji, and lucky flowers, fish, animals and birds, and Buddhist figures
- Tigers : The tiger, a traditional symbol of strength
- Dragons : The mythical Chinese dragon, with its arch-rival the tiger
- Gods 7-4-2 : Traditional symbols: the Seven Gods of Fortune, Four Protector-Gods, and Gods of Wind and Thunder
- Zodiac : 2024 Year of the Dragon, and the rest of the Chinese calendar
- Kimono : Elegance of traditional dress
- Hari-e : Pictures made from paper
- Woodblock : Ukiyo-e and other woodblock prints
- Flowers : Paintings featuring cherry blossom and other flowers
- Kaname : Paintings in the traditional style by Ozuma Kaname
- Ogasawara : Animal paintings by Ogasawara Etsuko
- Kayomi : Warm portrayals of traditional themes by Harai Kayomi
- Hakuga : Exquisitely tasteful paintings in the traditional style
Illustration - modern styles and cute characters
- Haruyo : Kimono beauties, in Haruyo's distinctive crossover style
- Yoshioka : Cute characters by Hideki Yoshioka
- Chihiro : Water colour illustrations by Chihiro Iwasaki
- Reina Sato : Jolly animal pictures full of colour
- Muramatsu : Cute humour from Muramatsu Makoto
- Tanaka : Great sights of the world by Naoki Tanaka
- Shinji Yamamoto : Fun-filled scenes of cartoon characters by Shinji Yamamoto
- Animal art : Work of various animal artists
- Wachifield : The curious cat, Dayan, and friends, from artist Akiko Ikeda
Fantasy art
- Horaguchi : Dazzlingly different images from Kayo Horaguchi
- Fujishiro : Fantasy in light and shade - art by Fujishiro Seiji
- Kagaya : Starlight fantasy art by Kagaya
- Kusuda : Surreal fantasy images by Satoshi Kusuda
- Nishino : The wonders of nature shown by white tigers and other animals
- Shu : Fantasy from digital artist Shu Mizoguchi
- Teppei : Fantastic scenes from Europe by Sasakura Teppei
- Takaki : Fantasy art by Takaki
- Other fantasy artists : Fantasy from other artists
The world of anime
- Studio Ghibli : Scenes from Hayao Miyazaki's animation features
- My neighbor Totoro : Best-loved of all Ghibli animations
- Kiki's delivery service : The 1989 Ghibli anime version of Eiko Kadono's original novel
- Evangelion : From the TV anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Conan : Detective Conan of "Case Closed"
- Suzumiya Haruhi : From the 2006 television series, the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
- One Piece : Scenes from the One Piece TV anime series
- Dragon Ball : One of the most successful anime series of all time
- Naruto : Anime series, and sequel Naruto Shippuden and Boruto
- Demon Slayer : Anime series featuring supernatural fighting skills
- Rage of Bahamut : Online card battle game
- Sailor Moon : Characters from the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon series
- Pokémon : The universe of Pokémon characters
- Children's anime : Favourite characters including Doraemon and Rilakkuma
- Hello Kitty : Japan's most famous cute kitten character
Puzzle themes - Western Art
- Western index - Thumbnail guide to artists and themes
- Classics : Great paintings from Western art
- Mucha : Master of the style of Art Nouveau, Alphonse Mucha
- Alice : Lewis Carroll's best-loved character
- Lassen : The work of marine artist Christian Riese Lassen
- Wysocki : American primitive painter Charles Wysocki
- Moomins : The lovable characters from Finnish author Tove Jansson
- Peanuts : Snoopy and the gang: characters from the Charles Schulz strip
- Ellenshaw : Classic paintings of Disney themes by Peter and Harrison Ellenshaw
- Thomas Kincade : Paintings by Thomas Kincade
- Gonzalez : Paintings by Disney artist Rodel Gonzalez
- Scenic art : Paintings by contemporary western artists
- Disney : The whole range of Disney characters
- Marvel Comics : Characters from the Marvel Comics stories
- Star Wars : Puzzles of the Star Wars franchise
- Harry Potter : Film version of the fantasy novels by British author J. K. Rowling
- Minions : Animation characters from the Despicable Me franchise
Miscellaneous puzzles
- Miscellaneous - The puzzles that didn't fit in above
- Mandalas : Buddhist maps of the mystic cosmos
- Floral collection : Flower arrangements in all colours
- None of the above : Puzzler's puzzles, difficult and different
- Tiny pieces : These puzzles need nimble fingers as well as patience
- Scroll : Vertical scroll puzzles
- Bargains : Remaindered puzzles at half-price or less
Feature pages
- Japanese castles (September 2006)
- Mountain roads (April 2007)
Other pages
- Blog - My sporadic comments on this and that
- Top ten - Our best-seller list
- Last chance! - Only one left of each of these puzzles...
- Special orders - When you can't find the puzzle you want, please use this page to ask
- Missing! - When you have the puzzle, but can't find a piece
- Artists - Complete list of artists whose work features on our puzzles
- The Attic - Complete list of puzzles no longer available
- UK "handling charges" - A bit of a rant about Post Office charges relating to VAT
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More about jigsaws
- Murals - how to display puzzles on the wall, without needing to buy a frame!
- More about the manufacturers (including box contents, website, product codes): Apollo - Appleone - Artbox/Ensky - Beverly - Cuties - Epoch - Tenyo - Yanoman
- A page from some years back - some more historical information about the manufacturers. And a discontinued brand: Road.
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Other puzzle related sites
These are my recommendations, but of course I cannot make any guarantees about the contents of other sites.
Sonia and Andrew Reynolds' site for collectors: Comprehensive worldwide list - puzzle manufacturers names and addresses
Jack-in-the-Box Puzzles: Scott Stafford's handcrafted made-to-order wooden jigsaw puzzles. This site includes some interesting background material on puzzle cutting.
MGC's Custom Made Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles & Fine Art Gallery: Mark Cappitella makes hand-crafted wooden puzzles for adults and children with 4 to 2,500+ pieces, using personal enlarged photographs, fine art prints, logos and digital images. Each jigsaw puzzle is custom made to order and completely personalized for Weddings, Birthdays, Corporate Events, Anniversary and Holiday gifts. The history page is particularly interesting - Mark thought he had invented wooden puzzles!
PuzzleHouse.com - "Upscale, high quality, hard to find jigsaw puzzles." Located in New Hampshire, USA, this established company offers a pretty good range, particularly of European manufacturers. (No Japanese puzzles though!)
J. C. Ayer & Company Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles - "J.C. Ayer and Company sells heirloom-quality, wooden jigsaw puzzles
featuring fine art reproductions and custom-made puzzles." ([dead link: http://ayerpuzzles.com/] Website disappeared in 2021; but here is an interview on Youtube.)
Another company producing custom wooden puzzles in Massachusetts. Insteand of being hand-cut like most such puzzles, these are made with Jim Ayer's own design of water-jet cutting machine, which allows him to offer batch production as well.
Custom Puzzle Craft - John Stokes: "Custom wooden jigsaw puzzles cut with an artist's eye".
At oldpuzzles.com Bob Armstrong restores and sells wooden puzzles from the early twentieth century, while at newpuzzles.com his son Conrad Armstrong makes new ones. Also: a brief history of jigsaw puzzles by Anne D. Williams.
Jeannette Aragon in California makes handcrafted wooden puzzles and toys.
Platinum Puzzles craft wooden puzzles in Canaan, New Hampshire.
(August 2021: removed a number of dead links — this list of links goes back a long way!)
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Miscellaneous links
- Tracking packages: Japanese Post Office - USPS tracking
