Hand-Cranked Karakuri Box Writes in Japanese

This beautiful wood machine created by Osamu Kanda is able to write Japanese katakana characters.

In a clever bit of reflexivity, the machine itself writes the word "karakuri" in pencil as the handle is turned twenty times through a complete cycle. The machine is 42cm long by 45cm wide by 30cm high -- smaller than it looks in the photos

The machine is thoroughly documented and photographed and described in Japanese and English. There are even schematic drawings!

Here is the link to the Pencil Karakuri page.

[Thanks Falk!]

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Karakuri Acrobat Automaton Flipping Down Stairs

I posted in the past about Japanese Karakuri Ningyo. In particular, I mentioned the fantastic drawing karakuri. Gakken is a company that sells a few kit including a tea serving karakuri and archer karakuri that actually shoots miniature arrows.

Here is a tumbler or acrobat. I have also seen a similar design from a company in Germany, though I don't know who came up with the idea or if this is a case of independent invention. It's that last flip that really surprises me.

Here's one karakuri book and here is another karakuri book (both in Japanese).

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Huge Automaton from Museum in Osaka, Japan

If you didn't happen to catch it, BoingBoing Gadgets had a post today about this giant automaton in Osaka, Japan.

Housed at the Osaka Municipal Museum of Science, it has recently been restored. Apparently, it is some 80 years old. I am not at all sure what it does, but would love to know.

Here is the link to many great photos of the Giant Automaton in Osaka, Japan.

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Automata and Mechancial Wood Toys from Japan

The automaton shown here is sold by a Japanese web site by the name of hands*pico. There is also a movie file showing this chicken automaton (.wmv) in action and the music box that drives the piece.

The hands*pico site has many automata, wooden toys, marble runs, and other great wooden products. There are many nice videos in the .wmv format distributed throughout the site.

Visit hands*pico to see Japanese automata and wooden toys.

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Automaton Video: Artist Aquio Nishida's Automata

Here is a great collection of video clips of automata created by Aquio Nishida.

I included his book, Automata: Movable Illustration, in my list of essential automata books for The Athanasius Kircher Society.

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Automata Mechanisms and Pegasus Automaton

Here is a nice video of several useful automata mechanisms including a crank and piston, a ratchet, and a Geneva mechanism.

The latter half of the video features a beautifully done Pegasus. The piece appears to be driven by the music box movement. I am told that this piece is part of a collection on display in Guma, Japan and is by artist Minoru Takahashi Akira Murakami. Look at all those gears! Well done.

To learn more about making mechanical toys and automata, check out Making Mechanical Toys.

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Automata in Japan: Karakuri Ningyo

I own two books on karakuri that are entirely in Japanese. I can't read them, but they are filled with photos and illustrations on glossy paper. Most of the karakuri in this video -- the acrobot, the archer, the magician, and the tea server -- are shown in these books.

Here's one karakuri bookand here is another karakuri book.

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The Hungry Vampire by Aquio Nishida

Aquio Nishida is an automata maker from Japan with a wonderful style. One of the remarkable things about his work is that almost every part is made from wood, including such things as axles, chains, and fasteners.

In the spirit of upcoming Halloween holiday, I wanted to showcase a Nishida automaton entitled The Hungry Vampire.

The sequence of action for this piece is described in his book: when the handle is turned the Vampire works the pedals of his robot bat. The bat opens his mouth and flaps his wings. Finally, the vampire brings his glass of red wine to his mouth to hold him over until he finds some blood to drink.

You can order Aquio Nishida's book Automata: Movable Illustration from Amazon's Japanese site.

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Automaton Artist: Kazu Harada

The Automata / Automaton Blog is pleased to present you with Japanese automaton artist Kazu Harada.


After studying Art History at in college, Kazu worked mainly as a computer operator. He started making automata as a hobby in 2002. Last September, he traveled to England "to meet great automata makers and develop my automata making skills".

Kazu chose his destination wisely; he has been apprenticing with The Fourteen Balls Toy Company -- under master automata makers Paul Spooner and Matt Smith -- while studying at Falmouth University.

See Kazu Harada's Automata Gallery at nizo.jp.

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Featured Artist: Ken Hayashi

The Automata / Automaton Blog is thrilled to share with you the work of Japanese automata artist Ken Hayashi. He works primarily in paper.

The site is in Japanese, so for English-speakers some random exploring of the navigation on his site is required. It is well worth it.

The piece shown here is amazing. Here's a link to a movie of the piece in action. The mechanism page for this piece makes me feel that I am witnessing the work of a master.

Here is Ken Hayashi's home page.

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Kangaroo Automata

Michael Molesworth is an automata-maker from Australia. Among his many Australia-themed works are several that feature the Kangaroo. Check out his work and his insightful take on automata in the "What are Automata?" section of his site.

Take a look at this Wooden Kangaroo Automaton

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Automata Maker Profile: AQUIO NISHIDA

Japanese Artist Aquio Nishida had a nice exhibition this year at the Toy Museum Seiffen.

I don't read German, but I don't have to in order to appreciate the work of this automata-maker. He seems to be the expert at animating four-legged animals using many cranks and long linkages.

Visit The Toy Museum's page on the Aquio Nishida Exhibit. (Click on the small gear icons on the lower part of the page to see his work.) [Thanks Falk!]

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Automata Maker Profile: Minoru Takahashi

Minoru Takahashi is another of the artist with work on display in Gadgets, Gears, and Whirligigs at the Charles River Museum of Industry in Waltham, Massachusetts. I stood and turned the crank on his dragonfly automata for several minutes. The motion is very captivating. I was really impressed with the wooden chain drives he uses.

It is a great honor to have a piece on display next to those of Minoru Takahashi.

Here is Minoru Takahashi's web site in English. There is even more to see if you click over to the Japanese version of the site.

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Wooden Writing Automaton

Here's a link to a video of a 19th Century wooden automaton that writes kanji on a sheet of paper. Simply amazing.

View the Kanji writing automaton on YouTube [via Make, via Brass Goggles]

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Soon-to-be-Sushi Automaton?

While my preferred material for automata is wood. I am continually amazed at what some artists can do with paper.
Here's a clever little automaton that creates a somewhat tense scene. I beleive it is titled Doomed Fish.

I'm still rooting for the fish!

View the wriggling fish automaton.

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O-Kan: Automata & Kinetic Sculpture

Here's a site that featues very clever automata and kinetic sculptures by Japanese artist O.Kanda. Almost all of the pieces have been captured on video if you follow the links far enough.

Check out the site called O-Kan

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Karakuri Site - The Karakuri Corner

The site is meant to function "as an educational gateway and a domestic marketplace for hard-to-find Japanese hobby products." I would say that the site fulfills its intended function very well. Lots of great products with images, descriptions, and videos.

Here's a link to The Karakuri Corner

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Karakuri - Japanese Automata

Did you know that there is a very old and sophisticated automata tradition in Japan? Karakuri are mechanized puppets used in theatre, religious festivals, and for entertainment. The tea-serving karakuri and archer karakuri frequently seen on eBay are modern recreations (mostly plastic) based on antique originals.

Learn more about karakuri from the very informative www.karakuri.info

You can also learn a bit about karakuri from Inside the Robot Kingdom

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