{"product_id":"isoho-monogatari-by-kyosai-premium-wooden-jigsaw-puzzle","title":"Belling the Cat — Kawanabe Kyosai Wooden Puzzle","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"waww-product-description\"\u003e\n\u003ch1\u003eIsoho Monogatari no Uchi, Nezumi no Sōdan no Hanashi \u003cstrong\u003e\"The Mice in Council\"\u003c\/strong\u003e— Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKawanabe Kyosai painted rats holding a political meeting. The year was 1873. Japan was in the middle of dismantling its entire social order, and the question on the floor was the same one from Aesop: who bells the cat? Nobody volunteered then either. Kyosai knew his audience would get the joke.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e📖 The Story Behind This Piece\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBetween 1873 and 1875, Kyosai produced a series of woodblock prints adapting Aesop's Fables for a Japanese public newly flooded with Western literature. Aesop arrived in Japan via Meiji-era translation programs, part of a deliberate government push to absorb foreign culture wholesale. Kyosai used the fable of Belling the Cat — rats debating who will volunteer to put a bell on their predator, with no takers — to say something pointed about the Popular Rights Movement and the officials who wouldn't act on it. The rats are rendered with genuine urgency. The cat is never shown.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKyosai trained under the Kano school, which meant years of disciplined brushwork in the classical Chinese-influenced tradition. He broke from it deliberately. The ukiyo-e energy in his figures — the loose, kinetic line, the humor running beneath the surface — was a choice, not a drift. By the time he made the Isoho Monogatari series, he was fluent in two visual languages and used that fluency to say things a more decorous artist couldn't.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe rats themselves are the puzzle's hardest section. Kyosai packed the composition with overlapping figures in similar dark tones, and on wood with UV printing, each robe and tail registers as a distinct texture rather than a flat color field. Paper laminate would blur that distinction. The ink sits directly in the wood grain here, and when a cluster of three nearly identical rat figures finally resolves into separate bodies, you can see exactly what Kyosai was doing with the crowd dynamic. He made them look alike on purpose.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🖼️ Need translation?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"0\"\u003eIt's Aesop's classic fable of \u003cstrong\u003eBelling the Cat\u003c\/strong\u003e — one of the most universally recognized moral tales ever written. The story: mice gather in a grand council to solve their greatest problem — the cat. Someone proposes the brilliant idea of hanging a bell around the cat's neck so they'll always hear it coming. The room erupts in approval. Then one old mouse asks: \u003cem\u003e\"But who among us will actually put the bell on the cat?\"\u003c\/em\u003e Silence. Nobody volunteers. The moral: \u003cstrong\u003eit's easy to propose bold solutions, but far harder to act on them.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 data-path-to-node=\"1\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"1\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eTitle Cartouche (Right Oval)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cul data-path-to-node=\"2\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"2,0,0\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"2,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eSeries Title:\u003c\/b\u003e 伊蘇普物語之内 (\u003ci data-path-to-node=\"2,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"23\"\u003eIsoho Monogatari no Uchi\u003c\/i\u003e) — \"Within the Tales of Aesop\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"2,1,0\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"2,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003ePrint Title:\u003c\/b\u003e 鼠の評議の話 (\u003ci data-path-to-node=\"2,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"21\"\u003eNezumi no Hyōgi no Hanashi\u003c\/i\u003e) — \"The Story of the Council of Mice\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003chr data-path-to-node=\"3\"\u003e\n\u003ch4 data-path-to-node=\"4\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"4\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eMain Narrative Text (Top Left Box)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"5\"\u003eThis text tells the classic story in the formal, classical Japanese of the Meiji era:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote data-path-to-node=\"6\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"6,0\"\u003e\"Once, mice were being constantly harassed and tormented by a cat, to the point where they could not even step outside. They gathered their companions together to discuss what should be done. A young mouse stepped forward and said, 'To ensure our peace of mind, let us attach a bell to the cat's neck. That way, whenever the cat comes running, we will hear the bell and can escape immediately.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"6,1\"\u003eThe entire group was overjoyed and celebrated this plan. However, an old mouse then spoke up: 'This is an excellent, excellent plan. But among our companions, who shall we have perform the deed of attaching the bell to the cat's neck?' Hearing this, they all looked away from one another, and not a single mouse stepped forward to do it. This shows that no matter how good a plan is, if the execution is too difficult, it cannot save you.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003chr data-path-to-node=\"7\"\u003e\n\u003ch4 data-path-to-node=\"8\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"8\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eDialogue and Labels\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"9\"\u003eKyōsai added humorous details to the characters:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul data-path-to-node=\"10\"\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"10,0,0\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"10,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eCentral Mouse:\u003c\/b\u003e Sitting on a blue cushion, he is labeled \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"10,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"56\"\u003e議長 (\u003ci data-path-to-node=\"10,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"60\"\u003eGichō\u003c\/i\u003e)\u003c\/b\u003e, which means \u003cb data-path-to-node=\"10,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"80\"\u003e\"Chairman.\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"10,1,0\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"10,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eMouse on the Left (holding the red cord):\u003c\/b\u003e He is the young mouse making the proposal. His dialogue says something like, \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"10,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"119\"\u003e\"Well, something difficult has been proposed!\"\u003c\/i\u003e as he realizes the magnitude of the task.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"10,2,0\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"10,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eMice on the Right:\u003c\/b\u003e They are murmuring about their fear, saying things like, \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"10,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"76\"\u003e\"The cat is terrifying...\"\u003c\/i\u003e and wondering exactly where or how they could possibly attach the bell without getting caught.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🎁 Who Gets One of These\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA few specific kinds of people keep ordering this one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e✔️ \u003cstrong\u003eThe collector who already owns a Kyosai print\u003c\/strong\u003e — You know his line work. Spending time with it piece by piece, at this scale, is different from hanging it.\u003cbr\u003e✔️ \u003cstrong\u003eThe art historian who studies Meiji-period Japan\u003c\/strong\u003e — The Isoho Monogatari series sits at an exact crossroads of Eastern and Western influence, 1873, with a political argument built into the fable itself.\u003cbr\u003e✔️ \u003cstrong\u003eThe literary person who knows their Aesop\u003c\/strong\u003e — The fable has been retold for 2,500 years. Kyosai's version, with its Meiji political subtext, is the most specific and most pointed rendition of it.\u003cbr\u003e✔️ \u003cstrong\u003eThe woodblock print enthusiast who works in a different medium\u003c\/strong\u003e — The UV-on-wood printing preserves the grain relationship that makes this feel like what it is, not a reproduction of one.\u003cbr\u003e✔️ \u003cstrong\u003eThe gift-giver looking for something with actual content\u003c\/strong\u003e — Not a decorative object. A political cartoon from 1873 Japan, made into something you can hold.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWorks for birthdays and retirement gifts when the recipient has a real interest in Japanese art, Asian history, or satirical illustration. Skip the anniversary angle unless you know the couple well.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e🧩 Puzzle Specifications\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e✔️ Precision laser-cut wooden pieces\u003cbr\u003e✔️ 3mm MDF core — rigid, warp-resistant, built to last\u003cbr\u003e✔️ UV printing directly on wood — no paper laminate, no peeling\u003cbr\u003e✔️ Traditional grid-cut design\u003cbr\u003e✔️ Handcrafted wooden keepsake box included\u003cbr\u003e✔️ Made to order — ships in 3–4 weeks\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e💎 Why This Puzzle Lasts\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost wooden puzzle makers charge $300 to $500. The craft justifies the price. WAWW gets there differently: direct manufacturing, no wholesale chain, made to order only. Same materials. The savings come from structure, not shortcuts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 3mm MDF core holds its shape. Cardboard puzzles warp after a few years, especially in variable humidity. MDF doesn't, which means the pieces still click together with the same resistance in twenty years. UV printing bonds ink directly into the wood surface rather than applying a paper laminate on top. No laminate means no peeling at the edges, and no color shift as the paper degrades. What you see in the Kyosai now is what you'll see in a decade.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe traditional grid cut produces clean, tactile connections. Pieces lock without forcing, release without sticking. When you finish, the wooden keepsake box is built for actual storage, not just first delivery. People keep it. Some frame the puzzle; others keep it assembled in the box and return to it. Every puzzle is made to order, which is why there's a 3-to-4-week wait. Nothing sits in a warehouse. Yours is cut after you place the order.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe 300-piece, 15\"x23\" starts at $115. The 1000-piece, 23\"x31\" runs $170.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"WAWW Puzzles","offers":[{"title":"300 Pcs | 23 x 15 inches","offer_id":45987516940476,"sku":"KK-ISO-693-300-23x15","price":115.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"500 Pcs | 23 x 15 inches","offer_id":45987516973244,"sku":"KK-ISO-693-500-23x15","price":130.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"500 Pcs | 31 x 23 inches","offer_id":45987517006012,"sku":"KK-ISO-693-500-31x23","price":145.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"1000 Pcs | 31 x 23 inches","offer_id":45987517038780,"sku":"KK-ISO-693-1000-31x23","price":165.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0522\/4369\/3756\/files\/Isoho_monogatari_no_uchi__nezumi_no_sodan_no_hanashi_by_Kawanabe_Kyosai_2.jpg?v=1772754290","url":"https:\/\/www.whatawoodwork.com\/products\/isoho-monogatari-by-kyosai-premium-wooden-jigsaw-puzzle","provider":"WAWW Puzzles","version":"1.0","type":"link"}