HIZEN VIDRO / HIZEN GLASSWARE
About 175 years ago / 1850s / Late Edo Period
Hizen Vidro began in 1852 at Seiren-kata, a scientific research facility established by Saga lord Nabeshima Naomasa, where glass was needed for chemical vessels and experimental equipment. A craft industry thus emerged directly from late-Edo scientific modernization and later passed into private production.
In Japan, Hizen Vidro is known for soft free-blown forms and vivid color. It remains practical tableware and sake ware while also carrying the unusual historical identity of a traditional craft born from nineteenth-century science and technology.
Its signature “Japan blowing” method is especially rare. Instead of relying only on an iron blowpipe, craftsmen use two glass rods so the hot vessel touches little except air, helping create an exceptionally smooth surface. Manipulating the two rods has earned the process the nickname “two-sword blowing.”