Talking with the famous glassware producer about the awesome relationship of the drink and glasses.
- Part 1 -

Kimoto Glass has collaborated with many luxury brands from around the world, including Suntory Yamazaki, as well as with sake brewers.

In this issue, we explore the better relationship between food scenes and glassware with Kimoto Glass!

writer：Ryoko Kuraishi／撮影：Kenichi Katsukawa

This is the showroom of Kimoto Glass. Not only can you purchase glasses, but you can actually use them and experience how they feel. Please make an appointment to visit the showroom. Glasses can also be purchased through the e-commerce site. Special prices are offered to restaurants. First, register as a professional from here!

Visiting a famous glass producer at downtown area of Tokyo.

Kimoto Glass" produces a wide variety of glass tableware by teaming up with glass factories, craftsmen, designers, and creators in Japan and around the world.

Currently, Kimoto Glass is a group of glass professionals selling glassware that meets the needs of the times in 12 countries around the world.

Kimoto Glass was founded in Asakusa, Tokyo in 1931 as a wholesaler specializing in glass tableware.

The company visited glass factories around the world to purchase glass tableware and sell it in Japan, but when it witnessed the excessive competition in the industry, it decided to change its business from a wholesaler to a manufacturer.

They decided to change from a wholesaler to a manufacturer. He has been producing modern glass products one after another, taking advantage of the network he has built with factories and craftsmen in 40 countries around the world and his knowledge of the industry's situation and trends.

Seiichi Kimoto is the third generation of Kimoto Glass.

Currently, we have most of our products manufactured by factories and craftsmen in Tokyo.

Our strength is that we have a good grasp of each maker's individuality and specialty style based on our longtime relationships with them.

We use the knowledge we gained as a wholesaler to produce glass products that are unique to Kimoto Glass, including niche products that the market demands and that other manufacturers are reluctant to produce.

Seiichi Kimoto, the third president of Kimoto Glass, who promoted the company to be a fabless company with no production sites, says, "We have been producing glass products that are unique to Kimoto Glass, including niche products that the market demands and other manufacturers do not want to produce.

The product that marked a turning point for "Kimoto Glass," which has turned the helm to the production business, was the world's first jet-black Edo faceted glass, "KUROCO.

Although he wanted to keep the tradition of Edo faceting alive, he felt conflicted by the fact that bright blue and red glasses were difficult to match with modern lifestyles and tended to be shunned by the younger generation in particular. ......

"KUROCO" is a jet-black bestseller that conveys the world of Edo faceting in a modern way. Now available in three types: "Ring," "Stripe," and "Tama-Ichimatsu".

Some people have said that although indigo (Japanese deep blue) and red faceted glasses are beautiful as products, they are not suitable for a nice bar or restaurant, or for drinking whiskey in your own room in an apartment.

However, everyone loves Edo faceting and the related keywords of "downtown tradition" and "handmade by craftsmen.

Then, I thought it would be a good idea to come up with a style of faceting that would fit in easily with modern dining tables.

That is when we started developing jet-black Edo faceting.

The stylish combination of the modern design with straight line motifs and black color created a sensation with Edo faceting.

Suntory also approached him, and a rock glass with the double name of "Yamazaki" and "Kimoto Glass" was born.

The creation of a new technology called "KUROCO" has created new value for Edo faceting, and has contributed in no small measure to the training of successors in a field where the population is aging.

In addition, as a producer of glasses, we were able to promote our stance of working closely with sake brewers, sake retailers, and restaurants to create new scenes for food and sake.

There are more than 130 types of glasses exclusively for sake! The lineup includes 6 styles of flat cups alone.

A paring of food, drink, and glasses.

What Mr. Kimoto is promoting is "Tripling," a combination of food, drink, and glasses.

In the world of food and wine, there is the pairing of sake that matches the ingredients and food to enjoy a richer flavor, and "tripling" is the addition of the glass as a factor.

"Tripling" is the addition of the glass factor to this concept. The idea is to pursue further possibilities in the food scene by combining the glass with the drink, the glass with the food, and the glass with the space.

In the case of sake in particular, it has been served in sake cups or wine glasses in restaurants.

In the case of wine, the glass is changed according to the grape's region of origin. Sparkling, white, red, and dessert wines all have their own class.

Sake is uniquely Japanese, yet the glasses to match the brand and pairing do not exist in Japan to begin with.

That is just too sad.

As a big sake lover myself, I wanted to choose a glass that matched the type, personality, and occasion of each type of sake, such as Daiginjo, Happoshu, Namahashi-zukuri, Yamahai-brewed, and matured sake," he said.

Mr. Kimoto, an unrivaled sake lover, suggests glasses for different types of sake, from left to right: daiginjo, sparkling, and yamahai brewing.

When I told Mr. Kuji of Nanbu Bijin and Mr. Sato of Shinmasa Sake Brewery that I was uncomfortable with this situation and that I wanted to propose pairings, including glasses, as a new lifestyle, they were very sympathetic, saying, "Even the brewers had not thought about this. They were very sympathetic, saying, "Not even the brewers had thought of that.

So they began to make a variety of glasses to enhance the individuality of sake.

Today, the lineup includes a whopping 130 different types of glasses specially designed for sake. The Hirakui glassware alone is available in six styles.

We have glasses that match not only the flavor and aroma, but also the temperature, the mood of the drinker, the space, and all other aspects of the scene.

In the second part, we will introduce the OEM of "Kimoto Glass," which is contracted to manufacture glasses full of originality.


Continue to Part 2