44 | History of Glass: Japanese Glass Manufacturers and Handmade Glass Factories (14)

Hello everyone 🎵

This year, there are many three-day weekends, totaling 10 occasions, including January 8th (Coming-of-Age Day), February 11th (National Foundation Day), February 23rd (Emperor's Birthday), April 29th (Showa Day), July 15th (Marine Day), August 11th (Mountain Day), September 16th (Respect for the Aged Day), September 22nd (Autumnal Equinox Day), October 14th (Health and Sports Day), and November 3rd (Culture Day). Whether you see this as an opportunity or a crisis is up to each individual, but I believe that general consumption will decrease, while experience-based consumption like dining out and travel will increase. I am working on a strategy to leverage this for expanding and popularizing sake glasses.

I briefly mentioned some observations from the last Paris Maison & Objet and Frankfurt Ambiente exhibitions, but there is another major trend in the glass industry.

The rapid spread of unbreakable glasses. Plastic cups like those used at Saizeriya are now available in stylish designs and colors. Unlike traditional glass, the barrier to entry for new manufacturers is not high, so many manufacturers around the world, including China, have started producing them. Supply is increasing, and the market tends to expand. I don't think they will completely replace traditional glass, but we need to consider various future implications.

So far, we've discussed Japanese glass manufacturers such as Ishizuka Glass, Sasaki Glass, Toyo Glass, Toyo-Sasaki Glass, and Soga Glass. From now on, I will introduce HOYA Crystal, a crystal manufacturing company.

HOYA Crystal was founded in 1941 (Showa 16) by brothers Shoichi Yamanaka and Shigeru Yamanaka, originally from Aichi Prefecture, who established Toyo Optical Glass Manufacturing in Shimohoya, Hoya-cho, Kitatama-gun, Tokyo Prefecture (now Nishi-Tokyo City, Tokyo). They began manufacturing optical glass, and at the request of Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, started producing optical glass for military use. Shoichi Yamanaka, a pioneer in crystal glass, founded the company with his brother Shigeru Yamanaka as a private venture.

During the war, there were six optical manufacturers in Japan. Nikon and HOYA supplied the navy, while the other four companies (Fujifilm, Ohara Optical, Minolta, and Konishiroku) supplied the army. Among those supplying the navy, Nikon handled warships (vessels), while HOYA was responsible for binoculars, bomb sights, and aerial camera lenses. After the war, with the disappearance of military demand, they began manufacturing crystal glass tableware for civilian use in 1945 (Showa 20).

In 1947 (Showa 22), the company name was changed to Hoya Crystal Glass Manufacturing Co., Ltd., and they began full-scale production of crystal glass.