Glass Studio JUNCOBO
Glass Studio JUNCOBO works with a local woodworker to offer products made of wood and glass. Its icicle-like sake cups are a condensation of the winter landscape in Asahikawa.
Products
The Kigurasu
The Kigurasu (Wood Glass) series of sake cups combines a stand made from Hokkaido-grown wood and a conical, blown-glass drinking vessel, and is a collaborative effort between Glass Studio JUNCOBO, a glasswork specialist, and a local woodwork artist. The cup is lifted from the stand when drinking. The glass cups have just the right thickness and unevenness to fit in one’s hand, and light is refracted in different ways depending on the angle they are held, making the drink even more appetizing. Sipping sake, wine, or other drink from these cups is one way of enjoying the cold and long winter nights of Asahikawa.
Guinomi (Sake Cups)
Guinomi are cups to gulp down sake in a single draft, and like other items in the Kugurasu series, the cups are lifted from the stand when using them. The surface of the Guinomi cups are designed in the image of icicles that form in front of homes in snowy Asahikawa and have motifs that call to mind snow swirls, blizzards, and crevices. In addition to sake, they can also be used as shot glasses to drink whiskey.
Katakuchi (Sake Servers)
These servers are made from hand-blown glass, and so each has a distinctive shape and character. The aroma and taste of sake will change depending on the vessel in which it is served, and is often said that the most aromatic and gentlest-tasting sake is one that is first poured into a Katakuchi server from a large bottle and then into a cup.
Junsuke Sugai
Born in 1952. Mesmerized by the plate glass he saw at Biei Station, Sugai decided to become a glass artist. After working a glass factory, he established Glass Studio JUNCOBO in Kitanoarashiyama in 1986. Sugai makes special order plate glass for public buildings and private residences. “Ki-glass,” which he co-developed with a wooden crafts artist in the Asahikawa region, is one of his most well known works. His works incorporate Asahikawa’s unique landscape while using the materials’ natural form.
I want to make designs that nestle up to,
rather than dominates, the materials used.
