Traditional craft
Izumi Glass
いずみガラス
Little glass animals, dolls, chopstick rests and wind chimes from Izumi in Osaka, shaped in a flame from soft glass rods made in the same town.
Key facts
- Officially recognised
- 17 October 2024
- Type
- Other crafts
- Region
- Kansai
- Official name in Japanese
- いずみガラス
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 和泉市
Soft glass, warm shapes
Izumi glass covers two things made by craftsmen in Izumi: the coloured glass rods themselves, and the objects shaped from them by lampwork, working glass in a flame. Because it uses soft glass, the finished pieces are rounded and feel warm, unusual for glass. Products include animal and doll figurines, chopstick rests, netted treasure ships and wind chimes. It is made in Izumi in Osaka.
Rods, then flame
- A gather of molten glass is taken from the kiln and drawn out long and thin to make coloured rods.
- Several rods are bundled and melted in a lamp flame.
- The softened glass is wound onto a rod and shaped.
- Trowels, pliers or tweezers help with the details.
Glass beads in 1877
Glass bead making came to Izumi in 1877, and the town went on to make glass products of all kinds. Izumi glass was designated a traditional craft in 2024.
Good to know
- Glass chopstick rests are small, light and easy to pack, a good gift from Osaka.
- Hang a glass wind chime in summer for the cool sound.
Questions travellers ask
What is lampwork?
Shaping glass rods softened in a flame.
Why does Izumi glass look soft?
It is made of soft glass, giving rounded, warm-looking shapes.
Where it comes from
More crafts from the same area
Local foods from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
- Hinenosho: a medieval estate next to Kansai Airport
- Kamenose: crossing the landslide heart of the Tatsuta Kodo
- Katsuragi Shugen: where mountain asceticism began
- Kawachinagano: a town where the Middle Ages live on
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
- Nyonin Koya: the temples where women prayed instead of Mount Koya
- Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage: Japan's 1,300-year journey of the heart
- Takenouchi Kaido and Yokooji: Japan's oldest national road
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.