Chinese calendar animals

© Izumi Kazumi / Art Box International

1000: Lucky rabbits (Kazumi)

A mother rabbit in an idyllic setting with her two babies. The surroundings include the auspicious pine-bamboo-plum combination, but also irises and other flowers.

Izumi Kazumi is an animal artist who graduated from Osaka University fine arts department in 1984. Izumi is her family name.

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An Appleone puzzle: 1000 pieces; 75 x 50 cm (30" x 20")
Code: A10658 (1000-658 on box)
Retail price ¥3600 (approx. US$48.65 €37.11 £30.77)
Shipping from ¥1200 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$16.22 €12.37 £10.26)
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© Haruyo

1000: Moon and rabbit (Haruyo)

A classic Haruyo design: a vividly decorated kimono, against a subdued, but patterned, background.

The original title Tsuki-usagi simply concatenates the words for "moon" and "rabbit", and these are the most prominent emblems in the design. The connection may not be obvious, but in Japanese tradition, in place of a Man in the Moon, there is said to be a rabbit, beating glutinous rice...

The artist Morita Haruyo studied both Japanese art and kimono design, and she combines these with elements of her own Western-influenced technique. (She travelled to London in 1977, exactly the year I [Brian Chandler] first came to Tokyo.)

Morita is her family name: she follows the tradition of signing - and sealing - paintings with her given name only.

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An Epoch puzzle: 1000 pieces; 50 x 75 cm (20" x 30")
Code: E11362 (11-362 on box)
Retail price ¥3000 (approx. US$40.54 €30.93 £25.64)
Shipping from ¥1200 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$16.22 €12.37 £10.26)
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© Row. V. Ogasawara

1000: Auspicious white tigers (Ogasawara)

The white tiger and her two cubs rest in a typically colourful Ogasawara setting — this includes the emblematic pine-plum-and-bamboo, and the setting red sun.

A hint on why the sun is red

Few biographical details are available, but Ogasawara has worked as a background artist for anime production, and specialises in animal portraits. Her acclaimed painting of a pair of white tigers has also featured on a jigsaw puzzle.

Mystery... The three puzzles we have (as of April 2006) all have different copyright declarations: her name written in Japanese, "Row.E.Ogasawara" and "Row. V. Ogasawara" - the pictures in these latter two cases include a signature "Row." which might be a nickname. She writes her given name, Etsuko, with the old form of hiragana 'e', so it might also be rendered as 'Yetsuko', though this hardly explains the 'V'.

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 1000 pieces; 75 x 50 cm (30" x 20")
Code: A10641 (1000-641 on box)
Retail price ¥3600 (approx. US$48.65 €37.11 £30.77)
Shipping from ¥1200 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$16.22 €12.37 £10.26)
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© Row.V.Ogasawara

1000: White rats, symbol of treasure (Ogasawara)

White rats dance over their wagonload of treasure - a wondrous cornucopia, chests (of gold?), red coral, a lucky mallet, and more...

Few biographical details are available, but Ogasawara has worked as a background artist for anime production, and specialises in animal portraits. Her acclaimed painting of a pair of white tigers has also featured on a jigsaw puzzle.

Mystery... The three puzzles we have (as of April 2006) all have different copyright declarations: her name written in Japanese, "Row.E.Ogasawara" and "Row. V. Ogasawara" - the pictures in these latter two cases include a signature "Row." which might be a nickname. She writes her given name, Etsuko, with the old form of hiragana 'e', so it might also be rendered as 'Yetsuko', though this hardly explains the 'V'.

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 1000 pieces; 75 x 50 cm (30" x 20")
Code: A10605 (1000-605 on box)
Retail price ¥3600 (approx. US$48.65 €37.11 £30.77)
Shipping from ¥1200 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$16.22 €12.37 £10.26)
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© Row.V.Ogasawara

1000: Playful puppies (Ogasawara)

Puppies play among spring flowers, as butterflies and a bluebird look on, while Mount Fuji looms in the distance. There are five of them - generally an auspicious number.

Few biographical details are available, but Ogasawara has worked as a background artist for anime production, and specialises in animal portraits. Her acclaimed painting of a pair of white tigers has also featured on a jigsaw puzzle.

Mystery... The three puzzles we have (as of April 2006) all have different copyright declarations: her name written in Japanese, "Row.E.Ogasawara" and "Row. V. Ogasawara" - the pictures in these latter two cases include a signature "Row." which might be a nickname. She writes her given name, Etsuko, with the old form of hiragana 'e', so it might also be rendered as 'Yetsuko', though this hardly explains the 'V'.

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 1000 pieces; 75 x 50 cm (30" x 20")
Code: A10466 (1000-466 on box)
Retail price ¥3600 (approx. US$48.65 €37.11 £30.77)
Shipping from ¥1200 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$16.22 €12.37 £10.26)
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© Ozuma Kaname

1000: Cock and hen (Kaname)

The long, clear call of the cockerel has made it a traditional symbol for long life. Here Kaname surrounds the cock and hen with flowers, particularly the auspicious peony, in a classic 'bird-and-flower' (kachôzu) composition.

The painter Ozuma Kaname was born in 1939, in Niigata. He studied traditional Japanese art, and his pictures are generally based on traditional themes.

Ozuma is his family name: he signs paintings with the single character of his given name only.

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 1000 pieces; 75 x 50 cm (30" x 20")
Code: A10326 (1000-326 on box)
Retail price ¥3600 (approx. US$48.65 €37.11 £30.77)
Shipping from ¥1200 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$16.22 €12.37 £10.26)
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© Row. V. Ogasawara

1000: Cock and hen at dawn (Ogasawara)

As the morning sun heralds a new day, the cock stands proud over his hen and chicks, surrounded by auspicious symbols — pine and bamboo, with double cherry blossom and yamabuki, the bright yellow shrub known to western gardeners as Kerria.

Few biographical details are available, but Ogasawara has worked as a background artist for anime production, and specialises in animal portraits.

Recent works by this artist all bear the unexplained copyright declaration "Row. V. Ogasawara." Perhaps "Row" is a nickname, but the initial is a mystery, and on earlier puzzles "Row. E. Ogasawara" has also been seen.

In stock
An Appleone puzzle: 1000 pieces; 75 x 50 cm (30" x 20")
Code: A10454 (1000-454 on box)
Retail price ¥3600 (approx. US$48.65 €37.11 £30.77)
Shipping from ¥1200 (N. America, Europe, Australasia: approx. US$16.22 €12.37 £10.26)
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© Tanabe Zigen

1000: Between a tiger and a dragon (Zigen)

A monkey dangles precariously from a gnarled tree projecting over the abyss - from above a tiger threatens, below awaits a dragon.

And the meaning of this terrible dilemma? Why, another pun: the Japanese for monkey is saru, which is also a verb meaning "to go away" or "disappear." So the title, literally "great difficulties monkey" also means the auspicious "great difficulties disappear"!

The artist was born in Toyama in 1970, and specialises in showy images, in his own reinterpretation of traditional Japanese themes.

Tanabe is his family name; he signs his paintings with his given name Zigen. Note that the usual Romanisation of this would be "Jigen", but it seems that Zigen may be the artist's own preference.

This puzzle has a metallic foil finish.

Permanently unavailable
Resupply date uncertain
A Beverly puzzle: 1000 pieces; 49 x 72 cm (19" x 28")
Code: B91095 (91-095 on box)
Retail price ¥3600