Jigsaw puzzle, 'The Riddle of the Pacific'

On 7 December 1941, Japan launched a series of attacks on British and American territories in Asia and the Pacific. The attacks shocked the world, although fears about Japan's imperialist aims had in fact been growing for decades.

This puzzle, produced by J.W. Ltd in 1944, reflected these fears. The cover of the box features a racist caricature of Hideki Tojo, a general of the Imperial Japanese Army and Prime Minister of Japan from 1941-44.

Five white planes circle in the sky above him, while on the side of the box an amphibious beach landing is depicted, bordered by the flags of six Allied nations. This imagery reiterates the message communicated by the posters: that the Allied forces will fight on land, at sea, and in the sky, pursuing the war against Japan to the very end.