The hemp-leaf pattern has been woven, painted, and carved into Japanese objects for over a thousand years. This is what it looks like in black glass.

Highlights

• Asanoha (hemp leaf): a six-pointed geometric star formed from overlapping rhombuses — one of the oldest patterns in Japanese decorative arts, a symbol of growth and resilience, used across textiles, woodwork, and ceramics for more than a millennium.
• Edo Glass (江戸硝子), not Kiriko: a distinct Tokyo hand-blown glass tradition that prizes the natural variation of the human hand over mechanical precision. Each glass is formed individually — no two are identical.
• Black glass with white pattern: the contrast is immediate. A design that holds its own on a shelf and improves on a table.
• Not available through major retailers — sourced directly from Taburo Kobo in Tokyo.

Details

• Craft: Edo Glass（江戸硝子）— Tokyo Traditional Glass
• Pattern: Asanoha Komon（麻ノ葉小紋）
• Color: Black（黒）
• Type: Old-fashioned glass（オールドグラス）
• Material: Edo Glass
• Note: Hand-made; slight variations in size and color are inherent to the craft
• Workshop: Taburo Kobo（太武朗工房）, Tokyo

Craftsman's Story

Edo Glass is a Tokyo craft tradition distinct from Edo Kiriko. Where Kiriko involves cutting geometric patterns into crystal, Edo Glass is a hand-blown and hand-formed tradition — the glassworker shapes the material while it is molten, applying pattern and color in the process. The result is a glass with a warmth and variability that cut crystal does not have: thicker walls, a slightly irregular silhouette, a weight that feels considered rather than precise. Taburo Kobo works in both traditions, and the Kuro Komon (black small pattern) series represents their interpretation of Edo Glass at its most graphic — traditional Japanese family crests and folk patterns rendered in the starkest possible contrast. The asanoha pattern on this glass has been a symbol of health and vitality in Japan since the Heian period.

How to Use

Whisky on the rocks or sake on the rocks — the black glass makes the liquid glow. Works equally well for shochu mizuwari (shochu with water and ice), cold brew coffee, or iced barley tea. The Edo Glass wall thickness means the glass insulates slightly: your drink stays cold longer than it would in thin crystal. Hand wash only; dry with a soft cloth.

Ships from Japan · Order more, pay less per item