廣田硝子，于1899年創業，是東京曆史最爲古老的玻璃制造商之一。

日本玻璃食器的制造曆史可以追溯到江戶時代。明治時代，國家于東京品川創立了官營的「品川硝子制造所」，自此東京下町的玻璃制造廠商紛紛起家。廣田硝子便是其一。盛行的東京玻璃制造産業，將西方傳來的玻璃制造技術與日本美學意識相融合，興起了日本獨特的玻璃設計。

戰後，機械化的大量生産成爲主流，而廣田硝子貫徹了代代相承的「追求傳達人之感性，器之溫度」的理念，始終如一地堅持手工制作。廣田硝子沿襲了江戶切子與江戶硝子等東京本地手工制造傳統，基于創業初始時的稀有玻璃器材和設計資料，與現代生活方式相結合，繼續創作融合飲食生活和室內裝飾的玻璃産品。

廣田硝子創業者廣田金太先生，出生于新潟縣燕市，赴東京後曾任職于燈具制造的神田高桑商店。隨後，于明治32年在東京芝田町創立「廣田硝子店」，並在東京本所橫川町憑借制造販賣玻璃食器，容器，和玻璃燈罩的「江東硝子工廠」打下了堅實的實業基礎。這便是現今在東京最爲古老，擁有多年傳承的「廣田硝子」之由來。

在與廣田硝子相配的玻璃食器制造技術尚存的現今，廣田硝子立志于再次制作且複刻制造玻璃食器。使一度被遺忘的手工技術與後世再次緊密相連，正是百年以來都堅持玻璃制造的廣田硝子才可以完成的使命。

廣田硝子的「大正浪漫硝子」系列便是傳承理念的一例。搖曳著大正時代（1912～）至昭和時代（1926～）盛行一時的乳白色紋樣，複刻當時被稱爲冰杯的玻璃器具，使用獨特的乳白玻璃成形技巧，時至今日仍舊可以制造此類玻璃的廠商只有廣田硝子。被賦予了日本特色的「和玻璃」，也在國營播出的NHK藝術節目「美之器」中被著重提及。

今後，廣田硝子也將繼續制造能體現日本人的豐盈感性和交替四季中孕育的世界觀的玻璃器皿。

Founded in 1899, we are the oldest glassmaker in Tokyo.

The manufacture of glass tableware in Japan goes back to the Edo period (1603-1867). During the Meiji period (1868-1912), the Japanese government established and operated the Shinagawa Glass Factory. After that, glass factories opened one after another in downtown Tokyo. Hirota Glass was among the earliest. Glassmaking in Tokyo flourished and fused traditional European techniques with the soul of Japanese aesthetics.

After World War II, mass production by mechanization became the mainstream for glassmaking. However, Hirota Glass produces only handcrafted glassware, keeping the generational company creed, “We want to make products possessing warmth and appeal to people’s sensibility.” Hirota artisans inherit traditional handicraft techniques such as Edo Kiriko, finely cut glass, and Edo Glass, the local Tokyo style. Based on rare glassworks, designs, and materials handed down since the establishment of the company, we create products which harmonize with both the experience of eating and the atmosphere of the modern home.

Our founder Kinta Hirota was born in Tsubame City, Niigata prefecture. He moved to Tokyo and apprenticed at the wholesale lamp store Kanda Takakuwa Shoten. After opening Hirota Glass Shop in Shiba-tamachi, Tokyo in 1899, he established the Koto Glass Factory in Honjo-Yokokawa, Tokyo, to manufacture glass tableware, containers, and lampshades. This enabled Hirota Glass to advance artisanal glassmaking for generations.

While our skilled craftsmen still create glass tableware, our company is also reproducing traditional glassware for drinking. To hand down the once-forgotten craftsmanship and skills to the next generation – we believe that is a mission only we, Hirota Glass, working solely with glass for over 100 years, can achieve.

Our Taisho Roman Series is one example. They are reproductions of glassware once called “Japanese shaved ice” with opalescent-colored patterns, widely made from the Taisho (1912-1926) to the Showa (1926-1989) period. The glass is molded using a technique called the Bone Ash Aburidashi Technique and we are the only ones still doing it. It is a type of Wa (Japanese) glass with traditional patterns, featured in “The Mark of Beauty,” an art program on NHK, the national Japanese broadcasting network.

We at Hirota Glass will continue to produce glassware with universal appeal, nourished by the rich sensibility of the Japanese people, interwoven with Japan’s four seasons.