By Rafe Calder
No preliminary drawing is made during the cutting. That is what the official crafts association says about Edo kiriko, and it is the best single fact about the craft.
Where it started
Wikipedia says Edo kiriko was first produced in 1834 by Kagaya Kyubei, a glassware merchant in Edo. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s craft page says he learned his craft in Osaka and returned to Edo to open a store producing eyeglasses, thermometers and hydrometers. The official crafts association says he began in 1834 engraving glass surfaces in imitation of British cut glass, and that Western techniques arrived in the Meiji era with British technical guidance. The association adds that a commodore, Perry, was astonished by cut glass bottles presented to him by Kagaya. We have not checked that story, and treat it as the association’s claim.
How it is cut
The three sources describe the method in slightly different counts. Wikipedia says there are six stages: coloured glass overlaid on a clear base, design marking with iron oxide, rough cutting with a grinding wheel and a water-and-sand lubricant, detailed cutting with fine abrasive or diamond wheels, polishing with a whetstone, and finishing with a wooden wheel and polishing powders. The Tokyo page gives four techniques: ink outlines applied with bamboo sticks, grinding with emery powder on metal wheels, smoothing with Kyushu whetstones, and final polishing with wooden wheels. The crafts association lists four steps: marking with red iron oxide pigment and whetstones, grinding with corundum sand on metal discs, stone placement with grinding wheels, and polishing with wooden, felt or bristle brush discs.
We show all three and note that the first lists a colour overlay that the others do not mention.
What it is made from
The crafts association says Edo kiriko uses moulded glass, specifically crystal glass or soda glass. Wikipedia says Edo kiriko uses transparent or lightly tinted glass with bold geometric patterns, whereas Satsuma kiriko uses overlaid coloured glass and more delicate designs. Our reading is that this contradicts Wikipedia’s own six-stage description, which includes a coloured overlay, and we have not resolved it.
Patterns
The Tokyo page says there are about 20 traditional patterns, including nanako, which it says looks like a series of fish eggs in reflected light. Wikipedia says nanako is made by carving intersecting thin lines that produce a shimmering effect. The crafts association lists chrysanthemums, hemp leaves, basket weaves, lattices and nanako, and says patterns have passed down from the Edo period to the present.
Where it is made
The Tokyo page says Koto, Edogawa and Sumida wards are the manufacturing areas, with about 80 per cent of production in Koto and Sumida. The figure is undated.
Recognition
Wikipedia says Edo kiriko became a Tokyo Traditional Craft Industry in 1985 and a national traditional craft in 2002. The Tokyo page gives 15 July 1985 for the Tokyo certification and 30 January 2002 for the national one. The crafts association gives 30 January 2002 for national designation.
A peak
The Tokyo page says the industry evolved over the move from the Taisho to the Showa era and peaked around 1940. We have not seen a figure for what the peak meant in workshops or output.
Dates in order
The sources give these dates and no others. In 1834 Kagaya Kyubei began producing the glass in Edo, according to Wikipedia and the crafts association. In the Meiji era, the association says, Western techniques arrived with British technical guidance. Around the move from the Taisho to the Showa era, the Tokyo page says, the industry peaked about 1940. In 1985 it became a Tokyo Traditional Craft Industry, and on 30 January 2002 a national traditional craft.
The three method accounts side by side
Wikipedia counts six stages and starts with a coloured overlay. The Tokyo page counts four techniques and starts with ink outlines made with bamboo sticks. The crafts association counts four steps and starts with marking in red iron oxide. All three end the same way: polishing with wooden wheels. The association adds felt and bristle brush discs to the wooden ones. The sources agree on the finish and differ on the start.
What kind of sources these are
Wikipedia is a reference work. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government page is an official craft page, and the crafts association is the body that promotes designated crafts. None is a maker’s account. We name no workshop and no living maker.
What the sources do not say
None says how long a piece takes, how many workshops now cut glass by hand, or how a buyer might tell hand-cut work from machine-cut work. We have not filled those gaps.
What we left out
The sources describe a visit by a foreign naval officer, which we treat as a claim, and give no figures on current workshops. We left out all prices, courses and shops.
What it means for a buyer
Our reading is that the cut is the point. A piece of Edo kiriko is judged by the sharpness and evenness of its lines, which the craft makes without a drawing to follow. Ask whether the piece is clear glass or overlaid coloured glass, and which pattern is cut. The sources name nanako, chrysanthemum, hemp leaf, basket weave and lattice patterns.
If a seller says a piece is Edo kiriko, ask whether the glass was cut by hand or by machine, and where. The sources describe a hand process, and none gives a test.
Where sources differ, we show each: the starting story, the number of steps and the type of glass. We list them in the check file.
Roam first. Shop later.