Thanks, Frederick. Would you be so kind as to explain the difference in appearance between Edo era beads and the Edo glass beads posted above. Thanks, in advance. The latter seem translucent by comparison to the opaque Edo era beads; is this a correct characterization? ...

Beadiste, I remember your observation about Edo beads being matte. These--eBay item number 272595365222--are shiny. Real Edo era beads?

The matte finish may be from the type of glass used. Today, at the ISGB conferences, there are Japanese sellers offering contemporary matte glass beads made with "soft glass." The sheen is not indicative of age.

During the Edo Era, Japan restricted trade with the west -imposing sumptuary laws. So, during the Edo Era, the Japanese were not allowed to wear necklaces. The lengths and graduation of the ebay necklaces from your ebay examples* are representative of the twenties, thirties and forties in the west. And the British were their best customers. Notice that ebay sellers of old Asian necklaces tend to be British.

There are fine examples of ojime which may have been made during the Edo period. But this was in order to get around the sumptuary laws. The law allowed accessories for clothing to be jewelry like. And those who could afford to show off their wealth and good taste were able to commission fine glass beads for ojime and kansashi. These were usually as large as 3/4" or 18mm and offered as single beads with perforations large enough for two cords to pass, not necklaces during the Edo Era, 1615-1868. You can see line drawing illustrations in the Soken Kisho, a late 18th c. treatise on netsuke, ojime and inro.

JRJ: Since you live near UC Berkeley, you can find translations of the Soken Kisho there. Also, you could attend the new group Joyce has formed which will be meeting every three months in the San Francisco Library; I will probably be offering talks on ojime and Mandarin Court Necklaces.

* The three beads from your first image are only one fourth to one third inch in diameter, the average size from an eleven inch necklace. I feel this information is important and should have been included with your original question. Size matters.

Frederick, the "Edo glass" beads 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? Does only the size of the largest beads matter? If I posted an image of the small beads near the clasp and listed their small dimensions, would this information would have been misleading? Were later beads graduated and early ones not? 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.

eBay item number:
352006836909
Under sold listings.

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.

Thank you, Frederick, for the clarification and additional information. I appreciate your kind offer to discuss the subject, but I feel I'd need to know a lot more about Edo and so-called "Edo glass" beads to hold up my end of a conversation. The content of my questions was not the tip of the iceberg of my knowledge about these beads, it is all there is. Unfortunately, my time to pursue outside interests is extremely limited right now and it may be some time before I get back to this. In the meantime, I plan to check in on BCN periodically, make at least a few of the talks Joyce is organizing and continue to ask questions.

Not trying to muddy the waters here, but is there any chance these could be Chinese repros?

The string appears to be new and any clasp may have been added to this rather short 11 & 1/2" length of very small beautiful beads.

Also, it seems to me, the graduation has been adjusted so that the dark rust color beads are spaced evenly. And, I would not be surprised to learn it was originally two and one half times this length; I have seen a number of early 20th c. necklaces which have tiny beads like these toward the back of the neck. -Twenty six inch and longer coral or ivory necklaces with quarter inch to three quarter inch graduations can be frequently found in London markets for comparison. Perhaps, the larger beads were resold as "Edo beads" first.

The seller of this Japanese necklace is in England, sixty miles northeast of London. Great Britain seems to be the recipient of many early 20th c. Japanese and Chinese beads which made their way into the Chinoiserie market in London and Paris.

An Edwardian coral necklace.

Sumptuary laws in Japan were intended for restriction from trade with the West. Therefore, precious few goods were exported (from Nagasaki) during the Edo Era.

Except for the small size of the perforation, the largest dark blue bead in this clearly Japanese necklace could pass as an ojime.