is a style of

cut glass Cut glass or cut-glass is a technique and a style of decorating glass. For some time the style has often been produced by other techniques such as the use of moulding, but the original technique of cutting glass on an abrasive wheel is still u ...

, now a traditional

Japanese craft Traditional in Japan have a long tradition and history. Included in the category of traditional crafts are handicrafts produced by an individual or a group, as well as work produced by independent studio artists working with traditional craft m ...

. It was manufactured by the

Satsuma clan The were the '' daimyō'' of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan. The Shimazu were identified as one of the '' tozama'' or outsider ''daimyō'' familiesAppert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888). in con ...

from the final years of the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...

to the beginning of the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

(1868–1912). Today, faithful reproductions are produced.

History

Shimazu Narioki was a Japanese feudal lord (''daimyō'') of the Edo period, the 27th in the line of Shimazu clan lords of Satsuma Domain (r. 1809–1851). He was the father of Shimazu Nariakira, Shimazu Hisamitsu Prince , also known as , was a Japanese samur ...

(1791–1859), a feudal lord of the Edo period, invited glass craftsmen from Edo (now Tokyo) to produce Satsuma kiriko. The manufacturing methods were based on foreign books from Nagasaki. Narioki’s son

Shimazu Nariakira was a Japanese feudal lord (''daimyō'') of the Edo period, the 28th in the line of Shimazu clan lords of Satsuma Domain. He was renowned as an intelligent and wise lord, and was greatly interested in Western learning and technology. He was e ...

introduced it into his Shuseikan Enterprise, the first western-style industrial enterprise in Japan, with factories that produced steel, textiles, and other products. The cut glass was very advanced craftwork. Nariakira was extremely fond of it, and sent it to other feudal lords as presents. After his death, the manufacture of Satsuma kiriko was discontinued in the early Meiji period because of financial difficulties, damage to the factory in the

bombardment of Kagoshima The Bombardment of Kagoshima, also known as the , was a military engagement fought between Britain and the Satsuma Domain in Kagoshima from 15 to 17 August 1863. The British were attempting to extract compensation and legal justice from ''daim ...

, and disturbances during the

Satsuma Rebellion The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government, nine years into the Meiji Era. Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in the Restoration and b ...

. The craftsmen and skills dispersed to Tokyo and

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

. Only a few pieces of Satsuma kiriko were produced in those days, so they fetch high prices as antiques.

Manufacture of Satsuma Kiriko

The ''Hari Seiko Zensho'' (Handbook of Glass Technology), written in 1830 by Kazuyoshi Hanai detailed the manufacture of Satsuma kiriko. The ''Hari Seiko Zensho'' presented a glassmaking technique influenced heavily by China. Satsuma kiriko was made by melting lead and mixing it with powdered white stone. As the stone and lead was reheated, zinc was sometimes combined with the mix in order to "eliminate impurities". Finally, as the mixture cooled niter was added to it and after melting the compound was shaped into Satsuma kiriko.

The difference between Edo Kiriko and Satsuma Kiriko

Edo kiriko ( :ja:江戸切子) features transparent and colorless glass, while Satsuma kiriko is more delicate and features overlaid colored glass. According to a recent study, the new one is produced since the section of the colorless Satsuma kiriko is tidied up. The main feature is the deep color of the overlaid colored glass. Also, cutting the glass boldly gives beautiful gradations of color.

Western influence in Meiji Japan

To properly understand Satsuma Kiriko, it can be helpful to understand the Japanese historical context it was developed in. During the Meiji period, Japan began to market goods to the Western market, which saw the manufacture of textiles specifically for a Western audience. Satsuma Kiriko was heavily influenced by Dutch and English glassmaking techniques. Western hunger for Japanese art showed itself in the form of "japonisme", where artists used Japanese motifs and techniques in their art. Vincent Van Gogh was famously influenced by Japanese art.

Reproduction and present

From 1985 a glass factory, an artisan, and a researcher together succeeded in reproducing Satsuma kiriko. In 1989 Satsuma glass industrial art, under the supervision and direct management of Shimadzu Limited, was certified as a traditional artifact of

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

. At present, they produce both reproductions of the old-style Satsuma kiriko and new designs and colors based on that style.

Area of production

Satsuma kiriko is made in Kagoshima Prefecture. The overlaying colored glass and the reproductions are produced in the workshops of Satsuma Glass Studio and Satsuma Vidro Craft. Making kiriko needs sophisticated skills because the overlaying colored glass makes it difficult to manipulate the grinder. Some Satsuma kiriko production is outsourced to Edo kiriko craftsmen.

References

External links

* http://www.satsumakiriko.co.jp/
NHK美の壺File14切り子
Images from an NHK broadcast of July 2006. Edo and Satsuma cut glass. (In Japanese). * http://www.satsumakiriko.com * http://www.shimadzu-ltd.jp * http://www.azaikazutakanosuke.com {{Glass production techniques Glass art Japanese crafts