VILLAGE Report vol.13 Tokyo | Edo Kiriko, Glass Engraving with Roots in 1834

The 6th installment in our Kanto series takes us to Tokyo. Tokyo is home to many craft techniques handed down from the Edo period, and several of them are designated as national traditional crafts. This time, we visit Edo Kiriko, a craft in which delicate patterns are cut into glass.

From a Glassware Shop in 1834

Edo Kiriko is said to have begun in 1834. It is said that Kyuubei Kagaya, a glassware merchant in Edo’s Odenmacho district, was the first to engrave the surface of glass using emery. In the Meiji period, techniques for Western cut glass were introduced by a British engineer invited to Japan by the government, laying the foundation for the techniques that continue today.

Two Designations, by Tokyo and the Nation

Edo Kiriko was designated a traditional craft of Tokyo in 1985 and a national Traditional Craft by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry in 2002. The production-area association has designated July 5 as Edo Kiriko Day, based on a wordplay using nanako, one of its representative patterns.

Key Points
・It is said to have begun in 1834, when Kagaya Kyuubei engraved glass
・Western cut-glass techniques were added during the Meiji period
・Designated a Tokyo traditional craft in 1985 and a national traditional craft in 2002
・July 5 is Edo Kiriko Day

What the Patterns Carry

Edo Kiriko has inherited patterns born from familiar things in everyday life, including nanako, a fine lattice resembling fish eggs; kiku-tsunagi, linked chrysanthemum flowers; kagome, representing the weave of a bamboo basket; and asa-no-ha, modeled on plant leaves. When patterns are cut into iro-kise, a layer of colored glass over clear glass, only the cut areas become transparent, creating a contrast of color and light.

Last time, we visited Boshu Uchiwa fans in Chiba Prefecture. VILLAGE Report vol.12: Chiba Prefecture is here. For highlights of Tokyo, see the Tokyo edition of our 47 Prefectures Guide. Next time, we will visit Kanagawa Prefecture.

References: Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Edo Kiriko Cooperative Association, Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries

—The Value Village Editorial Team

Photo: Nesnad / CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)