At 3 a.m., the first caw of a crow echoed from Asakusa Temple, while the "Kouetsu Glass Workshop" by the Sumida River still glowed with a warm orange light. 78-year-old Yamada Munehisa was meticulously carving his 10,764th Edo Kiriko piece with a tungsten steel blade. As the blade touched the crystal cup, ice-like cracks, as fine as a hair strand, bloomed into a dazzling Milky Way under the desk lamp.
A true Edo Kiriko does not require measuring instruments," the master's thumb caressed the cup's belly, akin to a musician tuning the strings of a shamisen. He was replicating the lost Meiji-era "Rangiku" technique, where 36 intersecting patterns are carved per square centimeter. This mastery, which once won a gold award at the 1900 Paris Exposition, is now known by only three artisans in all of Japan.
Upon observing the completed work under a 10x magnifying glass, one would witness a stunning microcosm: the intersections of the cross-hatch pattern are precise to 0.01 millimeters, the granules of the fish roe pattern are as uniform as nano printing, and all of this originates solely from the manual carving that relies entirely on touch and experience.
As I took hold of the freshly finished gold-foil Edo Kiriko cup and lifted it at a 45-degree angle towards the morning light, the refracted rainbow unexpectedly cast a chrysanthemum pattern reminiscent of ukiyo-e prints on the wall. This phenomenon, known as the "painting of light," is the very essence of why Edo Kiriko has been designated as a national traditional craft. It captures the breath of light in the late-night workshop.
This workshop of light's breath is not just a place of creation for artisans; it is a fusion of traditional craftsmanship and modern aesthetics. The dazzling brilliance of Edo Kiriko is the crystallization of these artisans' wisdom and skill, as well as their reverence and inheritance of traditional craftsmanship. In this space where light and shadows intertwine, each piece is a story, every pattern a manifestation of emotion. This is the allure of Edo Kiriko.
