About Hakone Yosegi Marquetry
Hakone Yosegi is woodwork crafts from Hatajuku, Hakone Town, Kanagawa Prefecture. Starting in the late Edo period, the technique combines multiple types of wood with different colors and grains to create geometric patterns. Famous for 'Himitsu-bako' (secret boxes) with mechanisms requiring dozens to hundreds of specific movements to open—a tourist favorite. Still hand-crafted by artisans, it's a representative craft of Hakone on the old Tokaido highway.
Techniques & Materials
Craft terms are shown in the original Japanese — these are proper names with no standard English equivalents.
Techniques
寄木（幾何学模様）ヅクかんな削り秘密箱仕掛け
Materials
神代木・楠・桜・桂など多種木材
Where to see & buy
Workshop names are in Japanese; links go to their official sites.
- 本間木工所（箱根寄木細工） hands-on experience