Some specialists feel that the opaque salmon colored ones, when large, may have been made in China but commissioned by the Japanese. Usually, glass beads like these are called ojime when they are 18mm, 3/4" diameter, with 2.5mm perforations. They may have been inspired by or commissioned by the Japanese but there is no clear evidence that large beads like these were made in Japan by the Japanese and for usage as ojime… Additionally, the colors are too bright to have been in style during the Meiji era or when netsuke were in popular usage.

Also, I have found the large ones have often been used to punctuate tassels on Chinese silk table covers -notice how you almost always find them in groups of two or four…An important distinction between a Japanese bead and comparable Chinese bead in this size is the sharp rim around the perforation. As you see in the translucent Japanese pair from Dog Bone Crazy, the rim around the aperture is dimpled or smooth. Large Japanese beads usually have smoother holes.

Just Fred

P.S. Thomas: Please post the size of your pretty beads.