UNDERCOVER CUBE
Las Vegas magicians Petrick & Mia visited the Tenyo offices in 2000 during a lecture tour in Tokyo. They presented several items that they were interested in marketing with us, but the one that intrigued the Tenyo staff most strongly was this unprecedented experiential magic effect. In essence, a spectator himself places a cube inside of a box, yet that very cube vanishes without a trace.

Experiential magic can be defined as visually-based magic effects that are strengthened by other senses Ð most commonly the sense of touch. This type of magic is visually surprising to the entire audience, but the tactile illusion is baffling only to the single person who participates.

Amongst the magic classics, there are some effects that come close to this concept of "experiential magic," including the sponge balls that multiply in a spectator's hand, and the birdcage that vanishes while surrounded by audience membersÕ hands. However, Undercover Cube is an unprecedented and unique effect in that the spectator himself picks up the cube and places it into the case, while the magician takes absolutely no part in the proceedings.

Created by: Petrick & Mia (2001)
MYSTERY CHINA BOX
There is an old effect in magic known as the Spirit Cabinet. In this effect, a cup is seen inside of a large box, and a ball is resting next to the cup. The magician closes the curtain to hide the interior of the box, and then reopens the curtain. Mysteriously, the ball has flown inside of the cup. Tomoyuki Shimomura started with this idea and strove to create a similar effect in a compact model. First, Shimomura changed the method of causing the balls to move within the box. By incorporating a mechanical gimmick, the trick became easy-to-do, and allows you to perform the effect inches away from your spectators' eyes.

Well-versed magicians will recognize that "Mystery China Box" is similar in design to the stage magic prop in which an empty box becomes filled with a multitude of objects. In that prop, a pocket is attached to the inside wall of one of the side flaps, and the objects are pulled out from this pocket. At first, Shimomura tried applying that principle to this trick, and attached the gimmick to one side flap. In other words, the gimmick could be plainly seen when the open case was viewed from the rear. However, we ultimately decided to relocate the gimmick into an entirely different section of the case. When the revised version of this trick was shown to other members of the Tenyo staff (who were familiar with the original gimmick), they admitted that the most mysterious aspect was where the gimmick had vanished to!

Created by: Tomoyuki Shimomura (2001)
PRISON BOX
In 1997, members of the Tenyo staff visited Angelo Carbone at his home in England, and were treated to many of his original magic creations. The first of his items that was released as a Tenyo product was "Mini Morphosis." We were thoroughly enamored with the idea of accurately presenting a stage illusion in a miniature version. Another one of Carbone's creations that delighted us was ÒPrison Box.Ó The primary reason that this effect stood out lies in its highly deceptive qualities. Once we learned its surprising secret, we knew that this idea was one that Tenyo would be proud to incorporate into our product roster. As the idea was further developed, we added a locking system, and the product was released four years after our initial contact with this item.

The locking system that enables you to hand out the props for examination is one of the characteristics of Tenyo products. It is commonly accepted that the magician wants to end ÔcleanÕ at the end of performing any magic trick. In other words, the props should be examinable by members of the audience.

The locking system that we have incorporated here may be technically defined as follows: "After the magic effect has been completed as a result of the prop being in a certain state, the prop is altered into a second state that disengages the main device from working any longer."

In other words, the trick itself would be entirely the same without incorporating a locking system, with the only difference being the inability to hand out the props for audience examination after the performance. In most instances, a locking system does not exist at the moment that the trick is invented, and such a system is added during the development process.

The first locking system released by Tenyo was incorporated in "Soft Coins" (1981). In this item, a lock was engaged by pressing on a secret location of the case. Later, in "X-Ray File,Ó a locking system similar to the Hakone puzzle boxes was incorporated. An even more sophisticated locking system was used in ÒRing Mystery," whereby the lock was automatically engaged at the end of the trickÕs performance. We incorporated a new concept in "Prison Box," whereby the movement of the clear panel during the course of the trick's performance automatically engages the locking system. This locking system was created by Shigeru Sugawara.

Created by: Angelo Carbone (2001)
SALT CUPS
Most props used in magic illusions capitalize on making maximum use of a secret space that is hidden by means of an optical illusion. Body parts (or entire bodies) can be hidden inside of such secret compartments that go unnoticed by the audience, enabling magicians to perform many types of effects. By minimizing the appearance of a secret compartment, it is possible to produce a multitude of objects from an apparently empty location, and also to vanish objects in the same way. "Salt Cups" is a form of Ôproduction magicÕ that was developed while contemplating how many secret compartments could possible be built into a simple-looking object.

Created by: Toru Suzuki (2001)