Name: KAIBA Glass Studio
Prefecture: Miyagi Prefecture
Area Name: Sendai City

Various kinds of sand are dissolved and converted into glass crafts.

This is a hot spring that is known as the back parlor of Sendai city, Miyagi Prefecture.The Hippocampus glass Studio is located in the long Bag district, which is headed for a forest full of nature from the city.Koji Murayama, who founded the workshop in 1996, is now a pioneer of glass art, attracting attention from around the world.In a peaceful place of the city, we are creating works energetically such as simple instruments, objects and lighting glass.

The creation of glass crafts by Mr. Murayama, starting with material research

The glass crafts made by Mr. Murayama are well known for their champagne gold “white ruri” and pale green “sahara glass”.It was the world’s first attempt to use the sand in the Sahara desert obtained by the cooperation of the Morocco Embassy as a glass material, and not to do artificial coloring at all.Using this technique, we have succeeded in making the “Sendai glass” of dark greenish brown with the sand of the Hirose River.

Continue to make more than 3,000 glass crafts

Mr. Murayama, who has worked on a wide range of jobs, has worked on more than 3,000 works.Among them, the works were presented to the Royal Family Morocco the achievement of the Sahara glass, and the production of “Sendai City tourist ambassador” which was given to Mr. Hanyu strings.Mr. Murayama was selected as “2013craft 47 people in Nippon” in 2013.

Mr. Murayama has a wide variety of works, but we can see many common denominator in the point of delving into the essence of the material and how to make it into a glass craft.The Buri-boned work facing the earth is attracting attention not only in Japan but also from the world.

The Studio and Shop tucked in Ivy

The building of the hippocampus glass studio is covered with lush ivy in the Summer.There is a small shop in the corner of the studio where you can actually see, touch, and purchase the works of Mr. Murayama.There are many cups and glasses, but we also sell large vases and fruit dishes.It is also the charm of this workshop that you can see the works of Mr. Murayama up close by harboring the sand of each land.Once you have your feet, let’s touch Murayama’s glass crafts.

Facility Name KAIBA Glass Works
Location 袋舘 Yamahara 23-1, taihaku-ku, sendai-shi, Miyagi
Phone number 022-399-2828
Open hours 10:00 ~ 17:00
Closed Nissui and Thursdays
Access Tohoku Expressway Sendai Miyagi IC 30 minutes by car
URL http://www.kaiba.org/