Edo Kiriko Hanashyo

Hanashyo creates not only glassware with traditional designs, but also numerous pieces with original designs.

The kome-tsunagi motif employed in this collaborative piece depicts stalks of rice. Rice is a symbol of prosperity, and this motif expresses prayers for an abundant harvest.

The kome-tsunagi design, a true delight to the eyes, is the product of Hanashyo’s expertise with glass.

The Japanese word for lightning is inazuma, a combination of ina, meaning rice, and tsuma, meaning husband. It comes from an ancient belief that lightning causes the rice plant to bear rice. This piece therefore harmoniously blends the motifs of lightning and kome-tsunagi.

The work consists of nine glass plates, combining transparent areas and areas where the back of the glass has been painted. They combine to depict a picture while also leveraging the reflections produced by cut glass.

Decorative Plate
This work was created by the third-generation master Hanashyo craftsman, Takayuki Kumakura. The kome-tsunagi motif, a unique Hanashyo pattern, represents a wish for a bountiful harvest and prosperity.

Large Bowl
Elegant curved lines contrast with sharp patterns in this artistically sophisticated piece. It is the creation of the second-generation master Hanashyo craftsman, Ryuichi Kumakura.

Vase
This grape-colored vase, created by Hanashyo’s second-generation master, has a tall, thin modern design.

Five Old-Fashioned Glasses
Five glasses have been created to show, in an intuitive way, the five steps involved creating old-fashioned glasses, from the uncut plain glass to the finished product.

Tools
Grinders are essential tools for creating Edo Kiriko glass. Hanashyo handles every process, from cutting to polishing, in its own workshop.

Edo Kiriko Hanashyo
During the postwar reconstruction period, Mokichi Kumakura set up an Edo Kiriko workshop in Kameido in 1946 (Showa 21). His successors Ryuichi and Setsuko Kumakura, who hoped to charm the people with the technique passed down from the Edo Period, opened a gallery in the corner of their workshop and started making their own. Their high-level skills and unique designs earned good reputation, were chosen as a gift at the Hokkaido Toyako Summit (G8 Summit 2008).

Photo by GION

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NEXT: Komachi-beni Isehan Honten
https://en.edotokyokirari.jp/exhibition/life/edotokyorethink2022-isehan-honten/