JRJ: I AM ALWAYS HAPPY TO MEET PEOPLE WHO HAVE AN INTEREST IN JAPANESE AND CHINESE BEADS. AND I SHOULD BE PLEASED TO MEET WITH YOU PRIVATELY TO DISCUSS THEM, SINCE WE BOTH LIVE IN THE EAST BAY. AND I WILL PROBABLY BE OFFERING TALKS LOCALLY. MY RESPONSES TO YOUR QUESTIONS ARE IN CAPS...

Frederick, the "Edo glass" beads -I WOULD NOT CALL THEM "EDO GLASS, AS EXPLAINED EARLIER IN THIS THREAD.- are graduated in size and only those in the center of the necklace are 1/4-1/3 inch in size. Please explain your comment that size matters in light of the graduated size of the "Edo glass" beads from small to large? -ACTUALLY I FEEL THEY GRADUATE FROM SMALL TO SMALLER.- Does only the size of the largest beads matter? -AS SHOWN IN YOUR PHOTOS, THESE EBAY BEADS ARE ALL VERY SMALL BEADS MADE FOR USE AS A NECKLACE. AND NECKLACES WERE NOT ALLOWED TO BE WORN IN JAPAN DURING THE EDO ERA. If I posted an image of the small beads near the clasp and listed their small dimensions, would this information would have been misleading? -YES BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL VERY SMALL BEADS AND NEARLY THE SAME IN SIZE.- Were later beads graduated and early ones not? (KINDLY RE-READ MY PREVIOUS RESPONSE CONCERNING OJIME AND SUMPTUARY LAWS IN JAPAN DURING THE EDO ERA.) Were later Edo beads (not "Edo glass" beads) graduated and shiny (eBay item number 272595365222, mentioned above) and early ones not? Just trying to understand your comment that it mattered to post the size.

PERHAPS THE CONFUSION HERE IS COMPARABLE TO THE CONFUSION BETWEEN "ISLAMIC GLASS BEADS" AND "ISLAMIC ERA GLASS BEADS"….IT IS BEST TO SPECIFY "ERA."….THE BEADS IN THE EBAY SALE ARE NOT "EDO ERA BEADS." THEY ARE LATE 19TH-EARLY 20TH CENTURY JAPANESE GLASS BEADS.

JRJ, OR ANYONE ELSE INTERESTED: PLEASE EMAIL ME PRIVATELY AND LEAVE YOUR PHONE NUMBER. I WOULD PROBABLY ENJOY CALLING YOU. BUT FIRST, PLEASE DO GOOGLE SEARCHES ON SUMPTUARY LAWS IN JAPAN. AND CONSIDER THAT THE JAPANESE, IN ORDER TO GET AROUND THE SUMPTUARY LAWS, WOULD MAKE JEWELRY SUBSTITUTES IN THE FORM OF FUNCTIONAL ACCESSORIES TO THEIR CLOTHING BECAUSE THIS WAS ALLOWED. WHEREAS NECKLACES, EARRINGS, FINGER RINGS AND BRACELETS WERE NOT ALLOWED.

OJIME ARE USUALLY ABOUT 3/4" OR 18MM IN DIAMETER. MUCH LARGER THAN THE EBAY ONES. AND THE PERFORATIONS ON OJIME AND OTHER BEADS USED FOR ACCESSORIES TO CLOTHING ARE LARGER TOO.

PS. I HAVE USED ALL CAPS SO THAT WE CAN DISTINGUISH JRJ'S questions ALONGSIDE MY ANSWERS.