vintage Japanese Kumiki puzzle: #14 scarce form Early signed TURTLE ??

Description

thanks for checking out one of my items, if you like this you will probably like other items i have, i get tons of stuff in diverse fields of collecting and use. NOTE: i will always combine items to save you shipping cost.
THIS ITEM IS---from a great large collection of
Japanese Kumiki puzzles, all of course are wooden.  some are very old, with not only the Japan pr made in Japan mark, but sometimes more intricate marks.  You are considering the puzzle you see in the photos and described in the title. some of the forms are common and some are rare, and some are quite rare, some are larger and smaller sizes of the same form, but most are OLDER than you usually see. take a look at the pics and use ebays zoom in feature to really get a look at what you are considering, most are great, but some  have some minor damage and some are missing a piece, If I noticed anything I will mention it here--THIS IS A VERY INTERESTING FORM, perhaps a TURTLE, the two ends are slightly different, and it has a round shape on the top, THIS IS NOT A COMMON FORM AT ALL, only one I have ever seen, there is what I believe to be a stamped signature in this one, shown in the last photo, this is possibly an original TSUNETARO but I am not sure. although since I think it is an animal form it might be
Hirokichi
AWESOME DESIGN. hard wood, you can see a split in the wood but it follows the natural imperfect nature of the wood itself.
Kumiki is a Japanese word which means "to join wood together". In Japan, the term "kumiki" refers to several different varieties of woodcraft, especially figural wooden interlocking puzzles or, in a broader sense, any wooden construction toy. They are also known as "burr puzzles." Each puzzle is handcrafted, and each is displayed as a small work of art, created in precision as is evident in how exact the puzzle pieces together.
These puzzles may have been used by master woodworkers as they tutored their apprentices in the art of constructing wooden buildings using interlocking pieces in the absence of metal parts or fasteners.
Tsunetaro Yamanaka (1874-1954) was the first craftsman to design and construct puzzles that resembled building and vehicles as well as abstract shapes like spheres and cubes. He changed the structure and form, and he made a basis of today's various "Kumiki". He designed many vehicles new in Western style as that time, such as a "sidecar", a "motorcycle", an "airplane", a "tricycle", a "car", and an "airplane.".But also he taked up Japanese things, such as a "folded paper crane", "Yomeimon gate", and a "five-storied pagoda".
2nd master Waichi concentrated on the design of the new structure of "Kumiki".But regrettably, he died at the age of 42 in 1943.
He produced "Sports Kumiki""A heavy gun with tank"which consists of a time background of those days and famous buildings in the worlds such as "Japaanese Donjon" , "Leaning Tower of Pissa"," ""London bridge"etc.
3rd master Hirokichi devised a lot of "Animal Kumiki". " It was the animal which is loved by everybody" was his belief.He continued to produce innumerable toys, post WWII.
He rebuilded his studio immediately after the end of the war and extended the business to export and did his best for spreading "Kumiki" in the world.
Under the belief , he produced "The animal of the twelve zodiacal signs""Elephant" "Lion" "Pig" "Hippo" "Camel" "Alligator" etc.
Moreover, he also devised the thing in alignment with times, such as a "Flying disk", a "rocket", and "space station" "Sputnik."
The form of the simplified animals is interesting and rich in the refined wit.
Animal Kumiki"elephant" devised in 1931 won the good design prize 2007.
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LOCATION-- box ( BLUE plastic bin 3 in G series tray)
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