I’m Fumina Watanabe, a second-year student at Konko Gakuen High School. I became fascinated with “Kurashiki Glass” while researching it as one of Kurashiki’s folk crafts.
At Konko Gakuen High School, we have a class called inquiry-based learning, where we can research topics we want to learn about. In the field of regional studies, our team of four is researching “Kurashiki Glass” and promoting it.
In this article, I, Watanabe, the team representative who became captivated by folk crafts through our inquiry activities, introduce “Kurashiki Glass”!
This article was contributed by the Japan Heritage Team, Humanities Track, Special Advancement Class, Konko Gakuen High School. The editorial team at Haretoco General Incorporated Association has edited and published it.
The information in this article is as of its publication in March 2021. Please note that it may differ from current information.
What Is “Kurashiki Glass”?
Have you heard of “Kurashiki Glass”?
“Kurashiki Glass,” a folk craft originating in Kurashiki City and recognized as Japan Heritage, is the collective name for blown-glass products made exclusively by its founder, Shinzo Kotani, and his son Eiji.
Its distinctive features are a gently “twisted rib” pattern and “Kotani Blue.”
Twisted rib
A striped pattern that evokes gently undulating waves
Kotani Blue
A color that looks like a soft blend of green and blue, a special color unique to “Kurashiki Glass” (not a name coined by Mr. Kotani)
“Kurashiki Glass” is also blown glass that pursues “beauty in utility”—a beauty refined through everyday use—and has been loved by many people for 50 years.
Me and “Kurashiki Glass”
I first encountered “Kurashiki Glass” when I was little.
I used it casually at home without knowing it was “Kurashiki Glass.”
I remember my parents often telling me, “Don’t break it,” perhaps because they treasured it.
And the reason I learned about “Kurashiki Glass” was that my older brother became a glassblower.
My brother originally seemed to want to become a shoe designer.
When I asked him, “Why did you start blowing glass?” he replied, “I thought the glass we always used (Kurashiki Glass) was nice.”
I was surprised that “Kurashiki Glass” had the power to change my brother’s career plans, and I began to take an interest in it too.
Around that time, I had the opportunity to research something for our inquiry class, so I decided to study “Kurashiki Glass.”
The Inquiry Activities
Our inquiry activities followed the steps below.
- Research “Kurashiki Glass” in detail
- Visit Eiji Kotani’s workshop
- Promotional activities
I’ll introduce what we did at each stage.
Researching “Kurashiki Glass” in Detail
First, we decided to research “Kurashiki Glass” in detail.
What Is “Kurashiki Glass”?
“Kurashiki Glass” has a unique appeal not found in machine-made products, as well as the functionality of everyday tools. It is characterized as a practical item—a “tool for everyday life”—rather than an artist’s work.
“Kurashiki Glass,” a folk craft, embodies the folk-craft spirit described by Kichinosuke Tonomura, the first director of the Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft, located in the heart of Kurashiki City’s Bikan Historical Area: “healthy, unpretentious, sincere, and unassuming.”
“Mingei” is a term coined by Muneyoshi Yanagi, known as the “father of the Mingei movement.” The movement, led by Yanagi and others, recognized the beauty of the various everyday utensils used in daily life and established a new standard of beauty.
“Kurashiki Glass,” which celebrates the simple beauty that naturally arises from pursuing utility, has been loved by many people for 50 years.
How “Kurashiki Glass” Began
Shinzo Kotani, the founder of “Kurashiki Glass,” originally made Christmas tree ornaments.
Kichinosuke Tonomura, the first director of the Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft, visited Shinzo and brought him glass from Mexico, asking, “Make something like this.” That was how “Kurashiki Glass” began.
Kotani Blue
“Kurashiki Glass” has a signature color known as “Kotani Blue.”
Kotani Blue is a color that looks like a soft blend of green and blue, a special color unique to “Kurashiki Glass.”
At the time, Shinzo apparently made it by crushing and mixing inexpensive blue glass with a Suntory moss-green whisky bottle.
Today, Kotani Blue is made by combining green glass with blue glass called “asagi”.
Visiting Eiji Kotani’s Workshop
Wanting to see how Mr. Kotani makes “Kurashiki Glass” in person, we visited Eiji Kotani’s workshop in July 2020.
It was midsummer, and the heat from the melting furnace, which exceeds 1,000 degrees, made the workshop unbearably hot.
With sweat on his forehead and a serious look in his eyes, Mr. Kotani gathered glass onto the blowpipe.
“First, I’ll make one,” said Mr. Kotani.
He blew into the blowpipe to make a small ball.
“What I make depends on the shape and size of this [ball].”
It was breathtaking to watch him concentrate as he added the gentle twisted stripes characteristic of “Kurashiki Glass.”
He also let glass drip onto a vase to create a pattern, and spun the rod to make a flat plate.
The process was like watching a flower bloom, and I was so absorbed that I forgot the heat.
Before the visit, I had thought of “Kurashiki Glass” as something impressive but distant and abstract.
Seeing Mr. Kotani at work and hearing his thoughts firsthand changed my impression of “Kurashiki Glass.”
I came to feel that it was even more appealing and close to our everyday lives.
I was moved to realize anew that everyday objects I had used since I was little were made this way.
This strengthened my desire for young people, too, to rediscover the value of local products, folk crafts, and Japan Heritage.
Promotional Activities
How can we help people learn about the value of local products, folk crafts, and Japan Heritage through Kurashiki Glass?
First, I came up with the slogan “Add to Everyday Life: Kurashiki Glass” and created a logo.
The logo represents the kanji character “倉” in “Kurashiki Glass,” as well as the blue color known as “Kotani Blue” and the striped pattern characteristic of Kurashiki Glass products.
The slogan “Add to Everyday Life: Kurashiki Glass” expresses the idea that bringing a piece of Kurashiki Glass into your home lets you experience the practical beauty and warmth of craftwork.
The people I especially want to introduce Kurashiki Glass to are teenagers and people in their twenties, around my age.
I thought videos that are easy to share would be useful for promoting it to younger generations, and came up with the idea of making three kinds of videos.
- A 30-second commercial
- A digital archive video documenting the making of the works and the firsthand words of Eiji Kotani
- A three-minute video about Kurashiki Glass and our activities
First, I made a 30-second commercial. It was my first time editing a video, and I learned how difficult it is to create a film.
Next, I produced a digital archive video that offers a detailed look at Kurashiki Glass, from its origins to its connection with the Kurashiki Museum of Folkcraft and the process of making the works.
Finally, I produced a three-minute video about Kurashiki Glass, sharing what I learned through our activities.
To make it accessible to English speakers, I came up with an English version of “Add to Everyday Life: Kurashiki Glass”—“CHOOSE IT YOURSELF CHANGE YOUR LIFE”—and added English and Chinese subtitles to all the narration.
This video is the culmination of everything I did over the course of a year.
The video was also shown on the large screen at Mirai Square, on the first floor of AEON MALL Okayama.
The white silhouette with stripes that appears in the video represents the striped Kurashiki Glass works, and I also used it to create postcards.
I hope to make more videos and merchandise about Kurashiki Glass in the future.
I’m looking for places that would let me sell, exhibit, or screen them, so I’d be happy if anyone interested would get in touch.
I’ll share the latest updates on social media.
- YouTube channel
Conclusion
My research project on the folk craft Kurashiki Glass became the most enjoyable and memorable part of my high school life.
It all began with a small question: What is Kurashiki Glass, which I used casually in my everyday life? That question opened up so many new perspectives.
The first was the beauty of folk crafts designed for everyday use, and the tradition shaped by Kurashiki’s historical background.
This led me to recognize the importance of local products, crafts, and Japan Heritage, and the need to pass them on to the next generation, so I began promotional activities.
The second was the importance of considering and creating effective ways to promote them.
Through my experience of digitizing traditional culture like Kurashiki Glass to preserve it, then sharing and spreading it, I realized anew that this is an important approach for the future, when social media will become an everyday part of life.
Finally, through these activities, I found my own dream for the future.
I had the opportunity to talk with many people from different professions, with different perspectives and ideas, and to take part in experiences that ordinary high school students might not get to have.
I also came to hope that I could continue these activities in the future, and that more people, like me, would rediscover the importance of local products, crafts, and Japan Heritage.
I hope this introduction will help people discover the appeal of Kurashiki Glass and become interested in other folk crafts as well.
Why not visit Kurashiki, the town where Kurashiki Glass was born, and add Kurashiki Glass to your everyday life?
Videos Produced and Awards
- Grand Prix, Video Category, 15th High School Commercial Contest 2020 (hosted by Fukuyama University)
- Grand Prize, Regional Digital Archive Category, Cultural Creation Digital Works Competition (hosted by Gifu Women’s University)
- Advanced to the final round, Japan Heritage Category, Tourism Koshien 2020
Main Places to Buy Kurashiki Glass
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