Taisho Roman Makiage Bowl

This is a glass bowl with makiage pattern from the Taisho Roman glass series by Hirota Glass, a long-established glass manufacturer in Tokyo.

Makiage is a traditional tie-dyeing technique used in kimono making. This method creates intricate patterns that convey an aura of elegance and grace. 

This pattern is created by the aburidashi "invisible ink" technique, which uses specially blended glass materials to form an opalescent, milky-white design. The patterns emerge due to the sudden change in temperature when the molten glass comes into contact with a precisely engraved mold.

Hirota Glass

When Hirota Glass was founded, Japan was in the Meiji Era (1868 CE–1912 CE), a time marked by the Industrial Revolution and increasing Westernization of the townscapes.

During this era, Japanese and Western arts, crafts, architecture, and designs began to blend. By the Taisho Era (1912 CE–1926 CE), this fusion gave rise to "Taisho Romanticism," a unique aesthetic style of the time.

In 2002, Hirota Tatsuo, the third director of Hirota Glass, began reviving the classic glassware styles popular during the Taisho Era. Today, the exotic charm of Taisho Romanticism continues to be reflected in Hirota Glass's creations.

Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is also a center of craftsmanship. Among them, Edo Glass and Edo Kiriko are traditional Japanese Glassware that have been handed down for about 200 years in Edo City, the old name for the central area of Tokyo.

These beautifully shining glasswares have been refined in Japan's largest consumer city, carrying on the good old Japanese tradition into the modern age.