According to legend, the origin of the glass industry in Okinawa can be traced back to the mid-Meiji period. In 1998, Ryukyu glass craftsmanship was recognized as a traditional handicraft by Okinawa Prefecture, and it truly became one of the signature handicrafts of Okinawa Prefecture,glass cookware .
Okuhara Glass Works was established in 1952. After the war, the number of glass workshops in Okinawa decreased dramatically due to the rise of plastic products. Okuhara Glass is the oldest glass workshop. Masao Momohara, 74, has been making glass for 59 years. Okuhara Glass is hand-blown mainly from recycled old glass. Each of these glass products has subtle differences in color and shape, which can make people feel the unique intimacy and nature of handicrafts that are completely different from industrial products. picture In 1998, Momohara Masao had a whim and invented the process of adding antibacterial moon peach to glass instead of preservatives. Due to the extremely high temperature of the melted glass, the moon peach extract is easy to volatilize. After numerous experiments, Masao Momohara finally succeeded in keeping the moon peach extract in the glass, adding a sense of calmness to the color of the Ryukyu glass. of brown.
In 2001, Masao Momohara was selected as one of 149 "modern famous workers" by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Now, with four apprentices, he is trying to continue the traditional glass craftsmanship in Okinawa.
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