Yoshita Kasho
Yoshita Kasho runs a lacquer painting company in Ishikawa Prefecture, highly renowned in Japan for their tableware crafts using lacquer and innovative designs. Their products are unique and modern in their application of lacquer painting on glassware. Their designs employ glass, gold, silver and limpet shells, forever aspiring to explore unprecedented creations in lacquerware.
Yoshita Kasho founded Yoshita Inc. in 1986, a lacquerware painting company passed on from Kasho's father. Today, Yoshita Kasho is the name of the chairman and the brand itself, run with his son Toshiaki Yoshita. Traditionally renowned for their reputation in making Chado utensils, the company is currently expanding its product lines towards modern tableware, while retaining traditional lacquerware techniques.
The Unprecedented Combination of Lacquerware and Glassware
Yoshita Kasho's most definitive design and innovation is the painting of lacquer on glassware. The paintings are done on the outside of the glass, so one can enjoy the paintings from the inside of the glass, without worry of damaging them. The outer layer is then coated with black lacquer or gold and silver leaves, which protects the paintings, and makes them visible only from the inside.
The Fantastic Beauty of Golden Glass
The glassware made in Yoshita Kasho are covered with transparent lacquer which creates a unique shining and reflecting layer on the glass. Yoshita Kasho invented a design by which gold leaf on the bottom of the glass reflects on the luminous lacquer, creating a fantastic illusion of a brilliant golden shine from the whole glass cup.
Extremely Delicate Hand-painted Designs
The craftspersons working at Yoshita Kasho possess the highest skill in the region when it comes to lacquerware painting. These craftspersons can delicately and carefully hand paint pictures of goldfish and "Koi" fish (carp) on small glass cups, with a finish of fine gold leaf.
Maki-e Glass Series
The Maki-e Glass Series is Yoshita Kasho's premier product. The golden leaves at the bottom of the glass reflect on the lacquer-coated body, creating an illusion of a golden shine throughout the glass. The bottom of the glass has delicately hand-painted designs of charming goldfish and "Koi" fish (carp), accompanying your drinking experience.
Glass Matcha Bowl Chawan Series
Matcha Bowl Chawan made of heat-proof glass and coated with black lacquer and wood powder. The variations in the inner surface design include gold, silver and galaxy. The galaxy design uses dark blue lacquer and sprinkles of gold and silver powder inspired by the scenes of the night sky.
“Celadon Tobikanna” Series
The signature series of Soryu Kiln is the “Celadon Tobikanna” series. The final achievement of Soryu Kiln’s desire to incorporate the prestige of celadon porcelain into the scenes of familiar tableware. The unique blend of pigments in the kneading process of the clay results in the profound and gentle warmth of turquoise glare on the charming plates and drinking ware. The beauty of the porcelain is given a touch of folk craft, with its skillful addition of geometric groovings, where the grooves are both pleasant for the eyes and for your hand to hover and grasp. The rim of the plates and cups reveal the red clay, giving a contrast between the luminous and smooth celadon and the rustic and stony texture of clay. A blend of precious high art of oriental porcelain and the more intimate feel of daily tableware and cuisine. The series comes with a whole variety of tableware from dishes of all sizes as well as drinking ware.
