77｜Glass Manufacturing Method, Molding Method, Processing Method 15

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The glass manufacturing process consists of: ① Raw material blending, ② Melting, ③ Forming, ④ Annealing, ⑤ Finishing/Inspection, and ⑥ Packaging/Shipping. We have already discussed ① and ②. For ③, Forming, we covered free-blowing, mold-blowing with a thin stem, and press molding. Today, I would like to talk about the pressure forming method.

The pressure forming method is similar to the press molding method. In press molding, molten glass is poured into a mold consisting of three parts—a plunger, a ring, and a body—and shaped by mechanical pressure. In contrast, the pressure forming method involves injecting compressed air into the mold during shaping. This semi-automated mold-blowing method is suitable for mass production of items such as bottles, single-flower vases, and soy sauce dispensers. Patterns can be incorporated into the mold, which then transfer to the bottles, single-flower vases, and soy sauce dispensers.

In Japan, only a few factories still manufacture tableware using the pressure forming method.

During the Showa era, single-flower vases for arranging flowers sold like hotcakes. Vases with various textured patterns, or those with blue and pink hues, were particularly popular.

In recent years, the demand for single-flower vases has decreased as cylindrical and square-shaped vases, along with larger sizes designed for arranging many flowers in expansive styles, have become popular.

In the Showa era, people would buy soy sauce and sauce in 1.8-liter bottles at local food stores and pour them into soy sauce and sauce dispensers at home using a funnel (如雨露 - jōro). It was in the late 1960s (Showa 40s) that soy sauce and sauces started being sold in small, household-sized packages at supermarkets. This convenient shift, eliminating the need for refilling, quickly spread throughout homes, and with it, the demand for soy sauce and sauce dispensers declined.

However, in Chinese restaurants and local diners, glass soy sauce dispensers, sauce dispensers, and chili oil dispensers are still commonly found on tables and are actively used today. There are even specialized vendors that deal exclusively in tableware for condiments like these soy sauce dispensers, and they now receive orders from various countries around the world.

Soy sauce dispensers are popular souvenirs in tourist destinations with many glass museums and specialty stores, such as Otaru and Suwa. In Otaru, in particular, they have become a staple souvenir that almost all tourists, both domestic and international, purchase and take home.

Glass products are easy to clean, resistant to stains, and odorless. Additionally, they do not drip from the bottom when pouring. It seems that generations unfamiliar with glass soy sauce dispensers from the Showa era are buying them as new products.