Himitsu Bako
A Himitsu Bako ( Japanese 秘密 箱 , dt. "Secret box") is a wooden box equipped with a mechanism that only releases a secret compartment after a certain routine has been carried out on the elements of the box. It is therefore a special form of the combination lock , which can also be understood as a mechanical puzzle .
Himitsu Bako are classified according to their length in sun , where one sun corresponds to 3.03 cm. In addition to one or occasionally several compartments, the box is equipped with a number of movable elements such as latches, buttons and lids, which, when operated in a certain order, allow opening in a certain number of steps. Simpler boxes can be opened in little more than 20 steps. More sophisticated models only reveal their content after 60 or more steps. Individual copies, which are not easily available in stores, have up to 324 steps.
history
The first forerunners of today's Himitsu Bako were mentioned around 1840 as souvenirs that were sold in Hakone to travelers on the Tōkaidō . They had their first media appearance in a magazine called "Onsen Miage Hakone-sou" (Eng. Hakone – hot spring – souvenirs). At the beginning they were not called Himitsu Bako, but rather “Sikake-Bako”, which translates as “device” or “trick box” or “tie box”, namely “idea, wisdom” or “intelligence box” ". These boxes were a kind of copy of the "Ito-Bako", which the workers used as a storage box for tools and materials. Through the "sikake" (trick), their property was protected. These predecessors were not yet decorated like today's Himitsu Bako. It was not until the beginning of the Meiji period that they were decorated by Mr. Takajiro Ohkawa, Mr. Tatsunosuke Okiyama and Mr. Kikukawa using the wooden mosaic technique ( Yosegi-Zaiku ) that has long been cultivated in Hakone and that still shapes their characteristic appearance today. Large shapes with several dozen opening steps have now also been developed.
In 1984 Himitsu Bako was declared a traditional handicraft within the meaning of the Law for the Promotion of Traditional Handicrafts. In addition to the items from Japan and abroad, which can be acquired cheaply and cheaply, the comparatively expensive works from master workshops in Hakone are still offered today as regional handicrafts.
Web links
- Collection Ruth and Clemens Stupperich - overview of Himitsu Bako and further information