Rikie Shojiguchi is a glass artist with a studio in Toyama Prefecture.
Under the concept of “gentle, soft, and comfortable.
, she continues to create attractive vessels with a delicate whiteness expressed by cutting glass and a unique touch that is comfortable to the skin.

Why is Toyama glass famous?

Toyama is famous for its “Toyama no kusuri (medicine seller), ” and in order to support Toyama’s pharmaceutical culture, which has a history of over 300 years, the manufacture of glass bottles to hold medicines flourished in and around Toyama City during the Meiji and Taisho eras, with the city boasting the largest share in the nation’s market. Such historical background has created rich resources and developed Toyama into a city of glass. Toyama is said to be one of the world’s leading glass cities, with a favorable environment that includes research institutes that foster glass artists and ateliers that support their production. In such a glass town of Toyama City, there is a studio called “Shojiguchiya” run by Rikie Kojiguchi. Shojiguchi-ya is a glass studio in Toyama City, a town known for its glass . Ms. Shojiguchi-ya creates glass works that fit the skin and are comfortable to wear. Ms. Kojiguchi is a glass artist who has received many awards in Toyama and other parts of Japan, as well as internationally. The unique and gentle look of the glass works she creates will surely convince anyone of the concept behind her work.

The Road to Becoming a Glass Artist

Ms. Kojiguchi says that she enjoyed watching glass artisans blowing glass and their work processes. His admiration for glass was accelerated when the Toyama Glass Art Institute was established while he was still in high school. However, at the time, he did not have the knowledge or skills to take the entrance exam for the Toyama Institute of Glass Art, so he decided to go to an art school first, and enrolled in Toyama College of Art and Craft. Around the time he graduated from the school, his longing for glass, which he had felt in his high school days, was rekindled when he stopped by the Toyama Glass Studio. As soon as I saw the glass-making process, I thought to myself , “I want to do this! At that moment, he decided to take the entrance exam for the Toyama Glass Art Institute. After a year of intense study, he successfully fulfilled his high school dream and received a ticket to the Toyama City Institute of Glass Art. Looking back, he says he could not forget the feeling of “the texture of filing wood” when he made a chair in one of his classes at the institute. This experience may have influenced his choice of glass as a material to create by touching and looking with his hands.

The Appeal of Kojiguchi’s Glass Works

The appeal of Kojiguchi’s glass is its gentle white color and unique texture. At first, Mr. Kojiguchi made colored glass works because of the tendency to sell only colored glass. However, he found that this did not allow him to show his playfulness with shapes. She then began to make works without color, as she does now, and the reputation of her work at solo exhibitions and other venues was unexpectedly high. And more than anything else, the works were comfortable and satisfying for her to make.

In creating her works, Ms. Kojiguchi places importance on the five senses of “sight,” “touch,” and “hearing. The glass that Mr. Kojiguchi finishes with his unique senses, not only by blowing glass but also by shaving and polishing, seems to embody the key to his creation, “Seeing with the hands. The glass seems to embody the key concept of his work, “to see with the hands”. This is how the glass has a smooth feel that cannot be felt with other types of glass.

When you pour sake, whiskey, or other alcoholic beverages into the carefully crafted “Hatsuri” glass, you will enjoy not only the taste but also the feel of the glass. The warmth of the glass is sure to be useful as a gift for anniversaries such as wedding gifts and kanreki (60th birthday).

In this way, Kojiguchi’s glass works add warmth to our lives. We are sure that she will continue to provide us with ” gentle, soft, and comfortable ” space with her unique touch and gentle colors. She will continue to give us a space that is “gentle, soft, and comfortable” with her unique touch and gentle colors.

I aim to create works that warm the hearts of those who use them, valuing not only the sense of sight but also the feeling of touch. Glassware comes alive only when people use it in their daily lives. We would be happy if you could use them a lot without putting them away and bring smiles and happy moments to your life.

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Glass crafts made while feeling the nature of Noto

Nanao Bay, where Notojima Island is located, is unaffected by rough seas despite its location on the Sea of Japan, with only a few ripples, like a lake, giving the impression that sea birds and fish are spending their time leisurely.Glass artist Kota Arinaga continues to create his works in his studio facing Nanao Bay on this naturally rich Noto Island.Since the Notojima Glass Art Museum of Ishikawa Prefecture is located just nearby, one might think that he came to this area through that connection, but he says, “I inherited this house from a relative who was using it.
Originally from Osaka, I studied glass art at a university in Kurashiki and worked at glass studios in Fukushima and Niijima in Tokyo before coming to Notojima four years ago.” The air is clear and the only sounds are the wind, waves, and birdsong.The gently rolling hills of the island are covered with rice paddies and fields, and because there is no heavy snowfall even in winter, the island is blessed with a variety of crops in all four seasons.The starry sky is beautiful at night because there are few streetlights, and the area is surrounded by nature so rich that it is like a natural planetarium, making one sigh. The Noto Peninsula used to be called an “isolated island on land,” but recently the transportation network has developed, and Kanazawa is only an hour away by car, and you can reach Tokyo from Noto Airport in no time.It is the best environment for me to concentrate on my work without overworking myself.” (Mr. Arinaga) Displayed in the living room is a delicate glass vessel that is almost scary to touch.The glass, which looks like fabric, overlaps each other, softly diffusing the ambient light and creating an indescribable nuance with a veil of gentle colors on the transparency of the glass.

Aiming for both art and practicality

The series named “gauze,” as the name suggests, appears to be made of a soft, gauze-like fabric enclosed in glass.When I visited the glass studio attached to his home, I found the glass kiln burning red-hot.He said he usually stays here to work on his pieces.

The earlier piece was nice, but I also like this kind of rustic vessel,” said Nakata.
Hidetoshi Nakata’s attention was caught by the casual glasses and jugs.These pieces made of colored glass were indeed simple and rustic, but they showed both delicate shapes and a handmade flavor.They had a different feel from the works seen in the living room.

It is not easy to balance the pursuit of beauty as an artist and the pursuit of practicality as a craftsman,” says Arinaga.However, watching Mr. Arinaga silently blowing and shaping glass, it seemed as if the two existed without discomfort.

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