Reading the Wikipedia bio for James Lord Bowes, it appears he was an enthusiast for all things Japanese right at the turn of the 19th century, when Japan opened to the West.

His analysis of the progression of Japanese cloisonne was wildly imaginative and did not correspond to what was later determined to be the historical reality.

So I think perhaps he was just guessing about mala beads. The Victoria & Albert beads were apparently purchased at the 1867 Paris exhibition. Were they advertised then as ojime, or is that a later description by V&A curators?