Edo Kiriko is a glass craft that has been handed down in Tokyo.
In Edo(present-day Tokyo) in 1824, Kyubei Kagaya started exploring the technique of cutting patterns into the surface of glass.

Edo Kiriko was fosterd in the urban culture among the townspeople, and during the Meiji era(mid-19th century), the craft introduced not only Western equipment and instruments, but also their technique while preserving traditional techniques and has been passed down to the present time.

First of all, an expert glassblower blows clear glass into a paper-thin shape of colored glass and then rotates this in the air to make the overall form.  The result is a two-layer structure with colored glass on the outside and clear glass on the inside.  By cutting patterns into the outside surface with different kinds of whetstones, a vivid contrast is created between the colored glass and the transparent glass.

In 1985 Edo kiriko was designated a Traditional Craft Industry by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

To qualify as Traditional Craft Industry, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government stipulates that the main process of manufacture must require the expert manual skills, the history of the techniques used must date back at least a century, and the craft must use traditional materials.

Shimizu Glass Corp was founded in Fukagawa in 1923 by Naojiro Shimizu.
In 1927 transferred to Katsushika for land readjustment.
Currently, the company has a total staff strength of 10 employees.
They are certified as Traditional Craftsman by both governments of Japan and of Tokyo Metropolis.

Mrs.Michiyo Shimizu, She is the chief executive of the third generation.
Unfortunately, Her husband passed away about thirty years ago. She was still in her 30's.
Then, she chose to follow her fathers footsteps and become the chief executive of the third generation.
She said "Unlike my husband and farther, I am not a craftsman. Everything I am today, I owe to everyone around me. I am just so proud of the company's craftsmen and the employees. I will continue to make good products with them."

We feel sure that you will be satisfied with our products.


Zip code 123-0006
Horikiri 4-64-7, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Shimizu Glass Corp.