Ryukyuan Glass Production

Going to the glass factory was the main reason I wanted to go on this tour. I had seen the Ryukyuan glass before in gift shops and had never seen anything quite like it.

Ryukuan Glass production is thought to have started around the Meiji Era making it about 100 years old. Until the early Showa Era necessities of life were made such as lamps, medicine bottle and drinking glasses but World War II destroyed all of Okinawa's glass factories. After the war glass production was revived through the use of empty Coke bottles discarded by the US military bases. With its unique shapes, Ryukyu glass is now widely accepted as art that has become an integral part of Okinawa's greatest crafts.

The glass is melted in a melting jar from 1,300 deg Celsius and above. It is then shaped, starts to harden and is taken to another oven that is 500 deg Celsius. Putting the glass in this oven helps to cool it down gradually. If it cools too quickly it can weaken and crack. It takes 40 hours for the glass to properly cool down.

It was fun to watch what this guy (above) was doing. He was making a goldfish!

It was after World War II that Ryukyuan glass came to be considered as a craft. During the time of material shortage immediately after the war, people cut Coca-Cola bottles in half and used them as glasses.

This entire wall was covered with things made from glass. It was absolutely beautiful! I've never seen anything like it. I've never been in a gift shop this large either. They had just about anything you could think of.

This was the biggest piece I saw. I don't know why in the world I didn't check out the price tag on this one since I was debating asking Santa for it this year.