How can such beautiful glass be made? Anyone who encounters Kiriko is captivated by its beauty and is left in awe. Kiriko is the Japanese name for cut glass. Of the Kiriko that remain throughout Japan, the most well-known are Satsuma Kiriko and Edo Kiriko. Satsuma Kiriko in particular is characterized by the patterns created by intricate cutting on thick glass, the lustrous gradations that sparkle in the light, and the weight you feel when you hold it in your hand. On this trip around Kagoshima, the "treasure chest of the south," we visited two workshops that create Satsuma Kiriko: Satsuma Glass Crafts and ART DESHIMARU.

薩摩品工芸

Restoring Satsuma Kiriko, production of which had ceased for over 100 years

Satsuma Kiriko began when Shimazu Nariakira, the 28th head of the Shimazu clan, promoted glass manufacturing as part of his modernization efforts, but production ceased for over 100 years due to the turmoil of the Meiji Restoration and the subsequent Seinan War, and as a result, it has come to be called a "phantom craft."

Known as Satsuma's "Bidoro" (red glass), Satsuma Kiriko was once highly prized as a gift from the Shimazu family to nobles and feudal lords. There was a strong desire to somehow restore this craft. This passionate desire of the people was fulfilled, and in 1985, efforts towards its restoration began as "Satsuma Glass Crafts." The following year, the factory was completed. Located next to Sengan-en Garden, a place associated with the Shimazu family, it was the Shimazu family that played a central role in the restoration. In parallel with the construction of the factory, repeated trial and error was carried out to create prototypes based on surviving materials, and in 1986 the restoration was finally successful, and commercialization began. After more than 100 years, this revived Satsuma Kiriko was named "Shimazu Satsuma Kiriko."

While Edo Kiriko is characterized by sharp cuts made on thin colored glass about 1mm thick, giving it an overall light finish, Satsuma Kiriko is sometimes made by cutting colored glass as thick as 5mm, and the transparency unique to crystal glass creates a particularly gorgeous appearance with a variety of intricately intertwined patterns.

In particular, the unique gradation texture known as "blurring," which is created by delicate cutting at the interface between the two layers of glass, crystal glass and the colored glass overlaid on top, gives the pattern a greater sense of depth.

Satsuma Glass Crafts includes the factory that produces Shimazu Satsuma Kiriko and the adjacent shop, Iso Crafts Museum, which is open for tours and allows visitors to see up close how the distinctive Satsuma Kiriko is made.

High-temperature colored glass and crystal glass come together in perfect harmony

The workshop is divided into two main areas: the "blowing area" and the "cutting area." The "blowing area" is where the raw material for Satsuma Kiriko is made. This is where, as the name suggests, glass is blown into shape using a blowpipe. Two artisans each hold a stainless steel blowpipe. At the end of one blowpipe is a lump of colored glass that has been reeled out of the kiln, and at the end of the other is a lump of crystal glass that has also been reeled out of the kiln. Of course, the glass at the end of the blowpipe is hot, molten, viscous liquid glass that has just been removed from the kiln and is glowing orange.

A craftsman with a colored glass blowing rod blows colored glass into a mold, and then immediately a craftsman with a crystal glass blowing rod blows crystal glass into the same mold. By combining the two in perfect harmony, a base is created with colored glass on the outside and crystal glass on the inside. The work proceeds silently in a high-temperature room, without the two of them speaking to each other. There is expert craftsmanship here, with trust in each other's skills.

The beauty that is unique to Satsuma Kiriko is created by cutting a thick piece of material made of crystal glass on the inside and colored glass on the outside. By touring the manufacturing site, you can get a firsthand feel for how this beauty is created.

After this process, called "color coating," the block of glass, which now has two layers of colored glass and crystal glass, is blown back into the mold (mold blowing), then cooled for 16 hours (slow cooling), and after inspection, it is transported to the "cutting area."

If the blowing area is a dynamic area, the cutting area is a quiet area. Craftsmen sit in chairs and carry out their various tasks. After the model is removed from the mold, they draw the lines of the cutting pattern with an oil pen (called "atari"). Then, along the drawn lines, they grind the rough pattern with a grinder (called "arazuri"). Then, they add more detailed patterns (called "ishikake"). The final process is called "polishing." It is a beautiful sight to see the craftsmen working silently and with concentration.

Witnessing the process of the glass being transformed from a thick, molten, orange-glowing liquid at the "blowing room" into hard, crimson and indigo-colored Satsuma Kiriko glass at the "cutting room," you are struck by the wisdom of the people who invented this complex method over 100 years ago, and the passion of the people of Satsuma who have recreated it after it had been lost.

The elegant "Shimazu purple" recreated 20 years ago

The Iso Crafts Museum shop is located right next to the factory. Upon stepping inside, you're immediately overwhelmed by the flood of brilliant colors. Indigo, green, yellow, crimson, golden red, and Shimazu purple. Numerous Satsuma Kiriko pieces, clad in six different colors of glass, smile at you all at once. The thick glass gives off a deep red or blue, while the light, sparkling green and yellow are accentuated by the intricate cutting, making these colors even more vivid. There is a wide variety of products on display, including vases, bowls, tumblers, small plates, sake cups, and adorable pendant tops. Having witnessed the arduous work that goes on every day at the factory, each product takes on a greater presence.

One of the most eye-catching colors is the elegant purple known as "Shimazu Murasaki." Based on the elegant purple used in the Satsuma Kiriko tea bowls owned by Shimazu Nariakira, the purple bowls and tumblers reproduced 20 years ago symbolize the tradition and prestige of Satsuma Kiriko. 2025 marks the 40th anniversary of the restoration of Satsuma Kiriko, and several commemorative pieces and limited edition products have been produced.

Sengan-en Garden, registered as a component of the World Heritage Site "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution," is a popular destination for many visitors to Kagoshima. After learning about the history of the Shimazu clan and the feat of the Satsuma domain at the palace, which was the villa of the feudal lord of Satsuma, and the Shoko Shuseikan Museum, visitors can experience the aesthetic sense nurtured by the people of Satsuma at Satsuma Glass Crafts. Sakurajima quietly watches over these fulfilling moments.

薩摩品工芸

9688-24 Yoshinocho, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture

Tel: 099-247-2111

Business hours: From Ten thirty am to Five pm

Closed: Mondays and the third Sunday of every month

ART DESHIMARU

Black Satsuma Kiriko, arrived at through trial and error

"We make authentic shochu using black pork, black beef, brown sugar, black vinegar, and black koji. Kagoshima is a place where the culture of black lives on. So why not have black Satsuma Kiriko glass? That's how it all began."

Tsutomu Deshimaru, the representative of "Takumi Glass Crafts Deshimaru, Artisan of Beauty" and self-proclaimed cut glass craftsman, said this in front of one of his own works. Deshimaru was involved in the Satsuma Kiriko revival project led by the Shimazu family from the beginning, and has closely observed the process of how Satsuma Kiriko is made as a direct witness. Drawing on this valuable experience and honing his own skills, he founded "Takumi Glass Crafts Deshimaru, Artisan of Beauty" in 2011.

Deshimaru named the black Satsuma Kiriko "Kirishima Kiriko." Not only is the workshop located in Kirishima, but he also believes that the depth of the color black is associated with Kirishima, the sacred mountain where the gods are said to reside. The jet-black color, combined with the distinctive weightiness of Satsuma Kiriko, gives the pieces a majestic feel.

"Cutting black glass requires advanced technique. Because black glass does not transmit light, you cannot see how deep the blade has penetrated when cutting. The key to cutting is adjusting how far you carve down to the millimeter. Because you cannot see the blade, you have to carve by feel."

The black Satsuma Kiriko that he arrived at after much trial and error has become synonymous with Deshimaru.

The black color evokes the weight of a long history, and the crystal is crystal clear. Deshimaru's unique cutting is carved into the glass. It is a work that exudes a sense of stillness and tranquility, and exudes nobility. There are also pieces of Kirishima Kiriko that are completely uncolored, allowing you to appreciate the brilliance of the colorless, transparent crystal and the intricate cutting that has been applied to it.

Of course, Deshimaru also creates many pieces of traditional Satsuma Kiriko. The patterns he creates by combining his own unique techniques with the orthodox cutting he developed during his apprenticeship, combined with the gradation created by the "blurring" that is unique to Satsuma Kiriko, create a unique beauty. Furthermore, Deshimaru is constantly challenging himself with new endeavors that go beyond the conventional concept of Satsuma Kiriko, such as "eco KIRI," which uses glass waste generated during the production process to recycle it into pendant tops and various accessories, and "fusion," which allows you to enjoy the light that passes through cut stained glass indoors.

Try cutting accessories, glass, and more at the workshop

ART DESHIMARU is a shop selling works created by Deshimaru and the staff of "Beauty Master Glass Craft Deshimaru." The store is a fun space where a variety of works are lined up, including Kirishima Kiriko, Satsuma Kiriko, and eco KIRI. ART DESHIMARU also offers cutting experiences. You can make a variety of items, from accessories to tumblers.

I tried my hand at making accessories. Holding a coin-shaped piece of blue glass in both hands, I gingerly pressed it against a cutting tool called a diamond wheel, which was rotating at high speed. There was a metallic whirring sound, and the transparent glass deep inside the cut area appeared as a white line. I tried to carve four evenly spaced radial lines vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, but the lengths and spacing of the lines were not consistent, resulting in an unsightly radial line. Because the depth of the cut was not uniform, the width of the lines themselves also varied.

By actually experiencing cutting, I was reminded once again of just how advanced skills are required to produce Kiriko.

His motto is "The pure blue hearth"

"In China, there is a saying, 'The flames of a furnace are pure blue.' This saying comes from the fact that the temperature is at its highest when the flames of a furnace turn blue. This saying also means that scholarship or art has reached its highest level. I will always keep this saying in mind and strive to create new sparkle."

The glass cutter, Deshimaru-san, continues to strive to improve himself today.

ART DESHIMARU

1817-1-2 Obama, Hayato-cho, Kirishima City, Kagoshima Prefecture

Tel: 0995-73-4747

Opening hours: 10 hours to 18 hours

Closed: Thursday

When the rich nature and the wisdom of the people who live there are combined, various "treasures" are born in that land. Numerous shining "treasures" have been born in various parts of Kagoshima Prefecture. They are now attracting attention from around the world.

The journey to discover the treasures of Kagoshima will continue. To see the previous articles on "Southern Treasure Chest: A Journey Around Kagoshima," please see below.

Click here for the first Kagoshima Tea Journey

Click here for the second Kagoshima Whisky Journey

Click here for the third Kagoshima "Shochu" tour

For the fourth trip around Yakushima in Kagoshima, click here

For the fifth trip to Kagoshima to explore natural cosmetics, click here