Origins and development in Japan
Kiriko is a craftsman's art that has been carved and nurtured one by one by the hands of craftsmen. Its roots lie in cut glass brought from Europe. Transparent glass vessels engraved with beautiful patterns. People were fascinated by the appearance of the glass, and it is said that production began in Nagasaki around the 17th century with the aim of producing it domestically. The technique then spread to Kyoto and Osaka, and then to Edo.
Kiriko began to be produced in earnest in Edo around 1834 during the late Edo period. It was in Edo Odenmacho, which is now the Nihonbashi area of Chuo Ward, Tokyo. It is said that it began when Kagaya Kyubei of the Vidro shop "Kagaya" cut glass into glass. Kyubei cut glass bottles and presented them to Commodore Perry, who was visiting Japan. There is an anecdote that he was praised for the excellence of his technique.
At the time, metal rods were used to polish the glass by hand, using an abrasive made from crushed diamonds called kongousha and water. Furthermore, the surviving catalog leaflets and wrapping paper for Kagaya, called "hikifuda," depict cut glass items such as sake bottles, stemmed cups, and stationery sets. From these, we can see that simple patterns such as "hail," a pattern of tiny squares arranged vertically and horizontally, were popular. These can be considered the forerunners of Edo Kiriko.
A poster of Kagaya Kyubei
Entering the Meiji era, the government also began to enter the field of glass manufacturing. The glass factory "Shinagawa Kogyosha Glass Manufacturing Co., Ltd." (currently located at 4-Chome Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo), which had been established in 1873, was nationalized in 1876. It was renamed "Shinagawa Glass Manufacturing Co., Ltd." and engineers were hired to provide training in Western-style glass manufacturing methods.
In 1879, tableware production was tested under the guidance of British engineer James Speed. In 1881, another British engineer, Emmanuel Hauptman, was invited to teach Western-style cutting techniques using rotary tools. It is said that over 10 Japanese people received instruction from Hauptman, and from his apprentices the craftsmen who support Japan's Kiriko industry were raised. It was around this time that the cutting techniques that are still used in Edo Kiriko today were established. Glass tableware also became increasingly popular.
In the Taisho period, research into glass materials to be used and development of crystal glass polishing techniques led to further improvement in the quality of Edo Kiriko.
Common People and Kiriko
Furthermore, from the Taisho to the early Showa era, craft glass grew so rapidly that cut glass came to be synonymous with it. With technological innovation and changes in the industrial structure, Kiriko production expanded even further. It was a time when a blend of Japanese and Western culture, such as the Taisho culture and Showa modern, flourished among the general public. Modern "colored" glass tableware, such as that in the Art Deco style, became popular, and Kiriko became synonymous with luxury goods. The image of "colored glass" spreading among the common people.
And then the time for war came. In Japan too, many craftsmen were sent to the battlefield, and some production areas and workshops went into decline. Glass was also collected as military supplies, and became extremely valuable. Furthermore, there was an urgent need for glass for airplane windows, so some craftsmen and workshops took up that job. Kiriko production temporarily decreased.
However, even in these times, the fire of the craftsmen continued to burn uninterrupted. After the war, the period of scarcity changed dramatically. With the American military occupation, there was a large demand for glass products such as tableware and glasses. In addition, the economy recovered thanks to the wave of rapid economic growth. Little by little, vitality returned to the craftsmen and workshops involved in Kiriko.
After that, "Edo Kiriko" was designated as a traditional craft of Tokyo in 1985. In 2002, during the Heisei era, it was designated as a traditional craft of the country. While keeping up with the times, Kiriko has been carved by hand, one piece at a time, unchanged since ancient times. Even today, craftsmen who follow in Hauptman's footsteps continue to make them, mainly in Koto Ward, Tokyo.
Edo Kiriko craftsman Kobayashi Kikuichiro, photographed in the 1950s (Photo courtesy of Kobayashi Glass Crafts)
The origins of the name
Its origins can be found in the book "Ransetsu Benwaku" written by Dutch scholar Otsuki Gentaku in 1781. In the book, which explains various Western cultural objects with illustrations, there is a diagram of "glassware" in the section "glass vessels" accompanied by the sentence "There is a type of sake cup commonly called kirikode with gold rim." There are also other descriptions, where cut glass is referred to as "kirikode (style)."
The catalog leaflets and wrapping paper for "Kagaya," which are thought to have been issued between 1818 and 1829, use illustrations and expressions such as "Kiriko Bowl" and "Kiriko Plate." This shows that "Kirikode" changed to "Kiriko."
Many documents from the early Taisho period refer to it as "Kiriko zaiku" (cut glass work), and there are various theories about the origin of the name "Edo Kiriko." The word seems to have become more commonly used after the war. One possible explanation is that it was designated a traditional craft by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in 1985. As a result, cut glass made in Tokyo came to be designated as "Edo Kiriko."
