Japanese style cut glass "Baroque"

Baroque-inspired Kiriko — cut glass as quiet luxury

An engraving practice rooted in Baroque grandeur
The Baroque series takes its cues from the ornate decoration of Baroque architecture — graceful curves, balanced symmetry, and intricate repeating patterns, each engraved into the glass by hand. The result is a surface that catches light differently depending on the angle, the hour, and what fills the glass.

Three colorways, three distinct qualities of light
Black and Navy amplify the contrast between shadow and brilliance — a quality borrowed from chiaroscuro painting, lending the glass a composed, almost architectural presence. Mint introduces mint blue layered with soft lavender, quieter and more diffuse, like filtered morning light.

Traditional motifs, carried forward without announcement
Kiku-tsunagi (linked chrysanthemums) and Nanako (fish roe pattern) are drawn from Japanese decorative tradition, each carrying long-held meanings — prosperity, connection. Here, they appear not as ornament for its own sake, but as a structural part of the engraving, present for those who look closely.

Baroque series — Black, Navy, Mint

Made by Noriko Chikaraishi — a designer turned Kiriko artist
Noriko Chikaraishi came to Kiriko from a career in design. The transition began with a single encounter: "I couldn't believe something this beautiful could be made by human hands." That moment of awe became a practice. Her background as a designer shapes how she approaches color — layered gradations, unexpected combinations — while her technique remains grounded in the precision that traditional Kiriko demands. The glass she makes sits at an intersection that most Kiriko does not: between the decorative heritage of Japan and the freer sensibility of contemporary design.

"Kiriko is the culmination of techniques passed down through generations. Encountering such work in the midst of a busy life brings a quiet richness — an opportunity to feel culture, craftsmanship, and calm."