NHK World Special Programs

Legend of Karakuri (2022x1)

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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.