Crafts / Tokyo

Edo Kiriko · 江戸切子

Light
cut by hand.

Meet the artisans ↘

Concept process image · Cut glass · Tokyo

TokyoPlace of origin

1834Roots of the craft

By handMade by experienced hands

2002National designation

About the craft

01 — Story

A Tokyo tradition

A clear surface becomes a field of light.

Edo Kiriko is the art of cutting patterns into glass by hand. Its roots are traced to 1834, when glass merchant Kyūbei Kagaya began engraving glass in Edo.

Edo Kiriko turns exact cuts into changing reflections, preserving the evidence of the hand in every finished piece.

Inside the processCutting demands control of angle, pressure and depth.

How it is made

02 — Process

Four essential stages

Precision,
made visible.

The process can vary by workshop and design, but every finished surface depends on a sequence of considered decisions.

Polish

The final polish restores clarity so light can move through every line and facet.

Refine

Finer wheels sharpen the geometry and smooth the cut surfaces, revealing the precision of the maker's eye.

Rough cut

A rotating metal wheel opens the principal grooves, setting the depth, proportion and structure of the pattern.

Mark

Lines and points establish the rhythm of the design. They guide the hand, but they are not a full drawing.

Language of pattern

03 — Detail

Old motifs, individual hands

The pattern is tradition.
The rhythm is personal.

Hemp leaf, chrysanthemum, basket weave and nanako are among the motifs carried through the craft. Artisans combine, scale and interrupt them differently, leaving a visual signature within a shared language.

Nanako: Fine repeating cuts · texture and light
Kiku: Chrysanthemum · longevity
Asanoha: Hemp leaf · growth and resilience

People behind the pattern

04 — Artisans

Meet the hands
behind the work.

Hanashyo

Working between inherited cutting patterns and contemporary geometry.

Hirota

Composing local woods into quiet, precise patterns for contemporary interiors.

For overseas businesses and creative partners

Start with an idea.
We will help find its form.

WANUI supports hospitality, retail, corporate gifting, interiors and product development by bridging culture, language and production.

Discuss a collaboration

What WANUI means

Tradition, human touch
and what comes next.

WANUI carries human creativity into an era shaped by AI and emerging technology—helping craft find new relevance, audiences and possibilities.

Japanese spirit

Japan's crafts and the beauty, care and values carried within them.

Human touch

Manual skill and tactile humanity whose value becomes clearer in the AI era.

NUI

To stitch, to carry

Connecting history and tradition, and passing them onward to the next generation.

AI & evolution

A platform that grows alongside technology while keeping people at its centre.

Light
cut by hand.

A clear surface becomes a field of light.