A Single Bead Weaving Tradition and Trends—TOHO BEADS and the Future of Bead Culture

A tiny spark that connects the warmth of handmade crafts with the cutting edge of fashion—that's a bead. And one company has been exploring its potential from the very beginning: TOHO BEADS, a legacy manufacturer headquartered in Hiroshima. Since its founding in 1951, it has been cherished by designers and artisans both in Japan and abroad, and today it stands as a cornerstone for bead artists worldwide.

In an age of accelerating mass production and fast-changing trends, their commitment to protecting 'the beauty encapsulated in a single bead' remains steadfast. Recently, they've been actively exploring new avenues for bead culture, including collaborations with the apparel industry and artists, and initiatives to support up-and-coming creators.

We had the chance to sit down with Iwao Yamanaka, President of TOHO BEADS, to discuss the intersection of traditional craftsmanship and modern bead embroidery culture, and what the future holds.

A History of Beads Stretching Back to Pre-War Times and the Journey of TOHO BEADS

Thanks to the current crafting boom, the world of glass beads is enjoying a resurgence in popularity. Both then and now, they've been a staple in hobby and craft stores, with each tiny bead opening up a world of creative expression. So, what's the story behind TOHO BEADS, the company that produces many of the glass beads we see every day?

"Before World War II, there were many artisans who worked with glass beads. But when the war broke out, the demand for them completely vanished. It was only after the war, when things started to settle down, that my grandfather and a few other companies got together to revive the bead-making industry. That was the real beginning."

"As things slowly brightened up after the war and the demand for fashion started to grow, we got to work. Before the war, glass bead making was essentially a cottage industry. Different artisans would handle various stages of the process right from their own homes. Since making glass beads involves so many steps, production was based on a real division of labor.

It was around the early 1950s that we started the initiative to bring all those processes under one roof in a single factory, aiming to produce beads consistently as an industrial product. I never saw the pre-war workshops myself, but I know that beads back then were almost entirely made by hand."

In pre-war Japan, Western-style clothing like dresses wasn't mainstream yet. Glass beads were primarily used for traditional Japanese attire—decorating obijime (cords for kimono sashes), zori sandals, and beaded bags. TOHO BEADS met this demand by supplying beads as a materials manufacturer, supporting the work of these skilled artisans.

But as the times changed, Japan's glass bead industry reached a major turning point. In the latter half of the 1950s, the number of domestic apparel artisans began to decline sharply, and production hubs started shifting overseas.

"TOHO BEADS adapted to this shift by starting to supply glass beads to artisans and factories abroad. By the 1950s and 60s, we had already established our foundation as a 'manufacturer that delivers glass beads to the world.'

Even as the number of embroidery artisans in Japan dwindled, we forged ahead with the mission of 'making beads alongside the world's embroidery artisans.'"

The Technique Packed Into a Single Bead: The Glass Bead Manufacturing Process

It takes a long and intricate process to create a single bead. From preparing the raw glass materials to finalizing the bead's shape, the journey is filled with a surprising amount of skill and painstaking effort.

"Here at TOHO BEADS, we manufacture glass beads, and it all starts with making the raw glass itself. The main ingredient is sand. We mix it with soda ash and limestone and then melt it at a high temperature for about 20 hours. This creates the molten glass that will become our beads."

"The molten glass becomes thick and gooey, like syrup. We stretch it out into long, thin 'glass canes' and then cut those canes into bead-sized pieces.

"But at this stage, the cut pieces of glass have sharp edges that would easily cut a thread. So, they go through a 'fire polishing' process. We apply heat to round off the edges, and that's when they finally take on the familiar 'bead shape' we all recognize."

"After that, the beads are washed and heated to give them a glossy shine. Finally, they undergo 'secondary processing.' This is how we create a wide variety of effects on the glass surface, like metallic sheens or an aurora borealis finish."

"In the past, our process was completely compartmentalized, with different artisans handling each individual step. We brought all those steps under one roof in a single factory, enabling us to mass-produce with stable quality.

The 'kesho kako,' or surface coloring, is a new technique developed in our time. It was born from a simple question: 'Couldn't we create more varied colors and textures?' This idea opened up the diverse world of beads we know today.

The strength of TOHO BEADS lies in the uniformity of our beads and the beauty of their finish. This consistency allows artists and craftspeople to accurately bring their envisioned designs to life. That's a source of great pride for us."

The World Connected by Beads: Tradition, Fashion, and the Future

TOHO BEADS' product line boasts over 80 different shapes, including triangles and squares, and a palette of over 1,000 colors. These countless combinations give rise to an almost unimaginable variety of beads. A crucial part of supporting this diversity is the 'secondary processing' stage, where various finishes are applied to the glass surface.

For beads used in wedding dresses, for instance, we apply a silver plating to the inside of the hole, creating a mirror-like brilliance. These light-reflecting beads shimmer as the dress moves, making the entire embellishment even more glamorous.

"Plating the inside of a glass bead's hole with silver is, simply put, like making a tiny mirror. Mirrors are made with silver, after all. So, by applying silver to the inside of the bead, the hole shines like a mirror when viewed from the surface, creating that brilliant sparkle.

Of course, silver can tarnish and darken over time, just like how earrings can get dull. But we use special processing techniques to ensure our beads stay beautiful for as long as possible."

More than half of all TOHO BEADS shipments are for the apparel industry, with a large portion going to European brands. Yamanaka says they have a system in place to consistently meet the region's strict quality and environmental standards.

"In Japan, you'll find our products in craft store chains and 100-yen shops. Internationally, we supply craft chains across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and demand from China is growing incredibly fast. With the rising popularity of handmade crafts, it’s truly wonderful to see our products on the shelves of craft shops all over the world."

Connecting people across the globe, beads are a thread that runs from the past through the present and into the future. If you unravel the history of beads, it takes you all the way back to ancient times.

"Beads are said to have existed for about 100,000 years. The very first beads were apparently made by drilling holes into eggshells or seashells and stringing them on a cord. The reason they did this was to create a 'mark of belonging.'

It was an ornament to show one's membership in a family or community. In human evolution, 'group awareness' was crucial for survival. A group of allies helping each other was far more likely to thrive than a strong but isolated individual.

It's a chicken-and-egg question: did making beads foster a sense of community, or did the need for community lead to making beads? But I'm certain that beads were tied to the very origins of human evolution.

The word 'bead' itself is also fascinating. It originally comes from an Old English word meaning 'to pray' or 'to wish.' Even today, you see strung beads in religious items like Buddhist *juzu* prayer beads and Christian rosaries.

Prayers and wishes are an expression of the shared feeling of 'wanting everyone to be happy' and 'wanting to live together.' When you think of it that way, I believe beads have always been, and still are, a symbol that connects people."

Born as tools for prayer and trust, developed into adornments, and spread as a medium for expression, beads have a rich legacy. TOHO BEADS honors this tradition while embracing contemporary design, art, and handmade cultures around the world. Past, present, and future—in every era, these tiny beads hold great warmth, continuing to shine as a presence that connects people and the world.