Hello! It’s Kayskay!

Today I will introduce to you “Edo Kiriko,” which is one of the finest glassware crafts in Japan.

If you write “Edo Kiriko” in Japanese, it will be like “江戸切子.”



“Edo” is “江戸,” and it is the name of an era in the history of Japan, starting from the year 1603 and ending in 1868.

Edo is also the old name of “Tokyo.”

If you are familiar with Japanese history, you probably know that the “capital city” of Japan was not always Tokyo.

In the beginning, Kyoto was the center of Japan, but this was shifted to some other cities as the history proceeded.

At the beginning of the Edo period, Ieyasu Tokugawa, the Shogun of the time, moved the central city to Edo in 1603.

So anyway, when you hear the word “Edo,” that means it has something to do with the Edo period, or something originated in Tokyo.


Now, the other word “Kiriko” is “切子” in Japanese.

“切” means “to cut,” and “子” is an indication that it is a “thing” or “object.”

In Japan, when you say “kiriko” or “切子,” it means it is something made by “cutting,” or “glassware with the surface decorated by cutting.”


“Edo Kiriko” is the name for glassware, and they MUST be made in Tokyo.
Any cut-glass products NOT made in Tokyo cannot be called “Edo Kiriko,” because “Edo” means “Tokyo.”


There are many “cut glass” products in the world, and it is said that they came to Japan from Europe in the end of Edo period.

But after that, Edo Kiriko’s cutting technique has gradually evolved in a unique manner, and become what it is today.


At our website, all the Edo Kiriko products are made in Asakusa, Tokyo, so they are all authentic crafts from Japan.

Edo Kiriko is one of the “must-buy” items if you are a real devotee of Japan!

(See “Edo Kiriko” products.)