Large antique cheapest Japanese glass bead

Antique Japanese glass bead. Edo Period, ca. 19th c.

Japanese lampwork glass beads called “tonbo-dama” .
They were popular during the Edo era
for fashion and luxury jewelry. Edo people put them on hanging tobacco cases and wallets on belts, the same as netsuke.

Tonbo-dama making techniques were kept secret and they were made in small scale cheapest studios mostly in Osaka, Senshu, and Edo (Tokyo). Since It was a luxury item the Edo government often prohibited buying and wearing beads. But Edo people still kept buying them and hid them under their sleeves.
It was a small hidden pleasure among Edo commoners.
Some were exported to the Ainu, the indigenous people of Hokkaido. The Ainu believed glass beads had spirits, and they placed great importance on them and kept them as heirlooms. They traded furs and seaweed for beads.

Excellent condition

(Measurement shown is in centimeters)

The last picture is from my column series “traveling beads,” from the issue where this item is mentioned.
I wrote about Ainu and Edo beads.