Maker · the cabinet's people
Junichi Yananose
Puzzle designer · interlocking burrs, boxes & sequential discovery · Pluredro, Australia
Junichi Yananose — known throughout the puzzle world as 'Juno' — is a Japanese-born designer and craftsman based in Queensland, Australia. He and his wife Yukari emigrated from Japan, where master craftsman Brian Young (Mr. Puzzle) helped them get established, before the couple launched their own workshop and shop, Pluredro.
Juno first made his name with brilliantly complex interlocking and burr puzzles, simulating countless twisting angles and piece orientations to land assemblies that are challenging yet operable with two hands. In more recent years he has turned that same engineering mind to puzzle boxes and sequential-discovery puzzles, producing some of the most acclaimed boxes of the era.
His sequential-discovery model 'Slammed Car' won the Jury Grand Prize at the 2019 Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design Competition in Japan — a finely detailed wooden car, built from woods like Koto, Blackbean, Jarrah and PNG Rosewood, that takes roughly 15–20 steps and a series of discovered tools to open.
Style signature
Engineering-grade precision applied across burrs, boxes and sequential-discovery puzzles — well-balanced assemblies, beautiful hardwoods, and box designs (often vehicles or objects) that hand you the tools to open them step by step.
Notable works
- Slammed Car
- Aussie Crystal
- Dial Case
- Quartet Box
- Ixia Box
- Sequential Discovery Cubed Box
- Sequential Discovery Board Burr Box
- Big Ben
Questions about Junichi Yananose
Who is Junichi Yananose (Juno)?
Junichi Yananose, known as 'Juno,' is a Japanese-born puzzle designer and craftsman based in Queensland, Australia. With his wife Yukari he runs the Pluredro puzzle workshop, and he is renowned for complex interlocking burr puzzles, puzzle boxes and sequential-discovery puzzles.
What is Juno's most awarded puzzle?
His sequential-discovery puzzle box 'Slammed Car' won the Jury Grand Prize at the 2019 Nob Yoshigahara Puzzle Design Competition in Japan. It is a detailed wooden car that takes about 15–20 steps and discovered tools to open.
What is Pluredro?
Pluredro is the Australia-based puzzle shop and workshop run by Junichi Yananose (Juno) and his wife Yukari, through which he designs and hand-makes his interlocking puzzles, puzzle boxes and sequential-discovery puzzles.