Edo Kiriko is means “cut glass made in Edo City” which is a traditional Japanese glassware with engravings on the surface of Edo Glass. About twenty traditional patterns of Edo faceting are characterized by the delicate faceting of traditional Japanese patterns that are also found on kimonos. The cutting, which sparkles with the reflection of light, is truly jewel-like in its beauty.

Surprisingly, in Edo Kiriko, no underpainting of patterns is done on the surface of the glass. Linear patterns are drawn on transparent or colored glass using a special abrasive compound that has been handed down since the Edo period. Edo Kiriko is the crystallization of the advanced skills of cut glass craftsmen.

In 1834, during the late Edo period, Kagaya Kyubey, who ran a glass wholesaler in Edo City, engraved the surface of Edo Glass using garnet stone powder called “Kongo-sha“. This is known as the beginning of Edo Kiriko. In 1881, a British cut glass technician, Emanuel Hauptmann, was invited to Japan, bringing cut glass technology from England to complete the Edo Kiriko method in earnest. In addition, the style of Edo Kiriko, in which engravings are made on the surface of colored glass covered with clear glass, was established and became famous throughout Japan as an aesthetic craft. During the Taisho and Showa periods (1912~1989), several Edo Kiriko manufacturers were established and have continued to this day.

Edo glass is made by craftsmen in every step of the process, and no two products are alike. They come in a variety of colors and designs, but all are characterized by the warmth of their handmade nature. 2014 saw the designation of Edo glass as a national traditional handicraft.
In recent years, as the number of glass factories overseas continues to decline, Tokyo is becoming known around the world as one of Japan's leading glassware production centers.
In particular, products that you actually hold in your hand and put your mouth, such as tumblers and wine glasses, have won high acclaim for their comfort. Guinomi sake cups and sake glasses, which are in the limelight along with Japanese food, have shapes calculated to enhance flavor and aroma, and are gaining popularity both in Japan and abroad.

Glassmaking in Japan dates back to the Jomon period (14,000–300 BCE). At that time, glassware was not a vessel, but a glass bead called a “Gyoku”, and manufacturing methods and materials were different from today.
Glassware was also imported to Japan from Sassanid Persia via the Silk Road in the Asuka period (538-710), where it was called "Ruri" and "Hari" meaning one of the most precious Buddhist jewels. 

Even during the Sengoku period (1467-1615), glassware was considered a rare treasure, and it was not until the Edo period (1603-1868) that glass production and distribution to the general public began in earnest in Japan. Glass production in Japan once ceased in the Middle Ages and resumed after Portuguese and Dutch glass products were imported to Nagasaki.
At that time, it was called "vidro," and the glass-making technology was also transferred to Edo City. According to records, the first blown glass product was made in Edo City in 1711.

Later, a glass wholesaler named Kagaya Kyubei and a glass worker Kazusaya Tomesaburo popularized glass production in Edo City. Beautiful glassware products such as plates, cups, wind chimes, Kanzashi (ornamental hairpins), eyeglasses, goldfish bowls, etc. quickly attracted the folks and became familiar items to decorate the houses of the downtown Edo City.

 Thereafter, the "Tokyo Hari Makers Association" was established in 1879 and and the first European-style glass factory in Japan began in Tokyo, the renamed Edo after the Meiji period. But, due to the Great Kanto Earthquake and the bombing raids on Tokyo during World War II, glass factories in the city were destroyed.
However, many of the factories were later rebuilt and the traditional techniques were passed down from generation to generation, and have been designated as a traditional Japanese craft since 2014. 

In the production of Edo Kiriko, in which engravings are made on the surface of Edo Glass, a process called “Wari-dashi (divide)” or “Sumi-tsuke (ink)” is used to mark the guidelines of the design without drawing a rough sketch.

Once the distribution of the design is written with iron oxide pigment using a bamboo stick or brush, the lines that serve as the standard for the design are carved in shallow lines.

For Edo Kiriko engraving, the “Kongo-sha", a garnet stone powder that has been used since the beginning of time, and wet diamond wheels are used.
In the process of "Arazuri", the roughest Kongo-sha is used, and then the pattern is roughly carved until "Sanbangake", which uses finer one. Although there is no rough sketch, the thickness and depth of the carved lines are very precise, created by the expert craftsmen's skill and sense of balance.

The patterns carved by the Sanbangake are refined using a whetstone disk. Fine patterns that can only be cut out with a whetstone are also added at this time. This process of Ishikake completes the carving of the Edo Kiriko design.

At the time of Ishikake, the refined pattern is cloudy like frosted glass. Through the process of Migaki (polishing), the entire Edo Kiriko piece is given a transparent luster.

Polishing is done using water and polishing powder on wooden disks made of paulownia wood or willow wood, or bristle brush disks specially designed for the piece. Finally, the Edo Kiriko is finished with cloth disks to give it a glossy finish.