This beautiful glass wind chime from the Shinohara Edofurin company has been hand blown and hand painted
on the inside using traditional methods. The representation of Mt Fuji - famous as a source of inspiration for artists and designers all over the world - will not, therefore, wear away or degrade over time.
The circular opening at the bottom of the glass sphere is deliberately left unpolished and uneven in order to produce clear sounds - each
furin is therefore unique in both appearance and tone.
A strip of paper, or
tanzaku, is attached to the central cord, which is held in place by glass beads at the top, and sheathed in glass. When the
tanzaku catches the breeze, the glass sheath makes contact with the glass sphere to produce a tinkling tone.
Wind chimes (
furin) used to be placed in each of the four corners of temples to protect them from evil. It is still very popular in Japan to hang wind chimes from the eaves of a house or in front of a window. We'd recommend hanging inside, or in a sheltered spot e.g. under a porch or on a balcony.
Shinohara EdofurinNowadays most glass wind chimes are cheap mass products made in large
glass factories. But there are still a few artisans who make hand blown
and hand painted glass wind chimes.
Edofurin has been producing wind chimes for over 65 years. Widely recognized for their high quality products, they
still use traditional techniques to produce beautiful
furin: two glass balls are hand blown - a larger one for the main body of the
furin and a smaller one which is later removed to create the opening at the base of the wind chime.
Measurements
Diameter of sphere: 7.5 cm (3 inches)
