Hakone-Zaiku Marquetry was first created in the early Heian Period. During the Edo Period it thrived as secondary jobs for many "Kagokaki", and started being sold at "Chaya"(tea shops).
There are two types of Hakone-Zaiku Marquetry, "Hikimono" and "Sashimono".
"Hikimono", produced using potter's wheels includes various products including bowls, and since the Edo Period Hikimono toys have been produced.
"Sashimono", mainly boxes, are decorated on the surfaces with "Yosegi-Zaiku Marquetry" or "Zougan-Zaiku Wooden Mosaic".

"Yosegi-Zaiku Marquetry" is carried out according to the following process; first timbers with natural colors are collected (and sometimes colored), then they are shaved with a plane (the thin shaved tree is called juku) and made into mosaic-pattern trees. Finally the thin paper-like trees are stuck on craftwork.
"Zougan-Zaiku" is made by the following process; timbers in various colors are set in a board, making the board look like a picture. This is also called Mokukga. Like in "Yosegi-Zaiku Marquetry", or thin paper like tree craft ("Zuku"), they are stuck on craftwork.

The mountains of Hakone are noted for the numerous varieties of trees found along their slopes.
Hakone-Yosegi-Zaiku marquetry is a from of inlaid and mosaic woodwork unique to this area, and craftsmen have made full use of the wealth of wood colors and textures found here to produce their elaborate geometric patterns. Hakone-Yosegi-Zaiku decorates small hand-crafted items such as trays, boxes and chests.

This marquetry technique was created in the late Edo Period by a local master craftsman, Nihei Ishikawa (1790-1850), who lived in the Hatajuku area of Hakone.
In May,1984, Hakone-Yosegi-Zaiku was designated a national traditional handicraft by the International Trade & Industry Minister.

1.Different-colored pieces of wood are planed to the proper thickness Then, the sheets are coated with glue, layered in order. and squeezed in a vise.

2.The resulting layered sheet is sawn to fit a unique marquetry mold. and thus one piece of a unit pattern is produced.

3.This piece is planed in the mold.

4.Several of the completed pieces are glued together to form a unit pattern.

5.Several unit patterns are glued and then tied together to produce a larger unit pattern This larger unit is sawn into several slices.

6.These slices are glued together yet again This process of repeated cutting and gluing into larger patterns results in a large plate called a Tanegi.

7.The Tanegi is then shaved with a special plane into thin sheets called Zuku.

8.Since a Zuku curls, it's ironed into a straight sheet for use as veneer on marquetry ware.

Zougan-Zaiku Marquetry Wooden Mosaic is made by setting patterns of landscapes and characters created by natural wood colors, which are cut out from wood materials, in a main board.
Each pattern was once created with a needle and chisel, but in 1889, Sengoku Shirakawa, who was the Yumoto Chaya(tea shop) owner, used a sewing machine imported from Germany with an attachment that successfully processed patterns with various designs. This method has made all precision marquetry possible, and the expression of Zougan-Zaiku Marquetry Wooden Mosaic consequently rapidly improved.

"Junitamago"(Twelve Eggs) started being sold as hot spring souvenirs by a Yumoto tea shop owner named Kameyoshi Shikoya in 1844.
They are wooden toys in which smaller eggs decreasing in size are contained within each other, with 12 eggs altogether.
More advanced skill is needed to create "Sanjurokutamago"(Thirty-six Eggs) which contains 36 eggs.

Products such as "Shichifukujin" and "Irokawaridaruma" have been created from Junitamago. "Shichifukujin" was shipped to Russia at the end of the 19th century, becoming a folkcraft called Matryoshika, or a doll having children.
It is thought that Russian missionaries from the Russian church which used to be in Tohnosawa visited Hakone for the summer and took "Junitamago" back to Russia as souvenirs.