Legend of Karakuri

Overview

Karakuri are traditional wooden automata. Since their heyday in the 17th century, they have become the source of mechanisms still used in moving toys today, and they are seen as a key step in the evolution of Japanese craft and manufacturing. Tamaya Shobe IX runs a Nagoya workshop that has been building and repairing karakuri since 1733. We join him as he takes on the challenge of recreating a karakuri set thought to be Japan's oldest surviving example, at an estimated 270-plus years old.