The Japanese glass bead industry is a very young one, having started in the 1930’s as a “Mom and Pop” business in Hiroshima. However, the Japanese have loved and used beads since the early 1800s, importing them from European bead makers.
 | Matsuno are the oldest bead manufacturers. Established in 1935, they have supplied the world with superior, high quality glass beads that are enjoyed and admired world wide. The brand has built a stellar reputation on the principle of trust and reliability. Matsuno colour card link:
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 | Miyuki is a familiar name to beaders around the world. In 1949, Seiichi Katsuoka began producing beads in Fukuyama, Hiroshima. His son, Hiroshi, invented the technique of silverline plating and started to export the products to the United States. By 1953, Hiroshi established the Hiroshima Glass Beads Industry Co.,Ltd. In 1974, his son, Masayoshi Katsuoka, the current president, separated the sales division from the Hiroshima Glass Beads Ind. Co.,Ltd., and created
Miyuki Shoji Co. Ltd.
Since then sales offices were opened in Tokyo and Osaka and in 1982 they announced the production of a new cylinder bead which they called the Delica bead. This bead was particularly suited to loom work and in 1984 they established the Delica Bead Loom Association.
The company opened a number of factories throughout Japan and in February 2006 they completed the construction of the new factory in Fukuyama. The entire company, both production and sales changed their name to Miyuki Company, Ltd.
Miyuki links:
Miyuki Sample Cards:
http://www.miyuki-beads.co.jp/english/seed/e-samplecard.html Colour matching round beads/Delicas: http://www.miyuki-beads.co.jp/english/seed/08.html
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 | Toho, the youngest of the Japanese bead companies, started in November 1951. The name, Toho , means Eastern Treasure in English and reflects the company’s ambition to manufacture the finest beads in Japan. The company is run by the Yamanaka family who have developed state of the art machinery, resulting in beads that are consistent in shape and size – their most “perfect” bead, the Aiko bead produces wonderfully smooth, silken beadwork. To honour their president's determination to make these the finest beads in the world, they named these beautiful, delicate beads after Aiko, his beloved wife.
Toho links:
Toho colour cards: http://www.tohobeads.net/sample/card1a.html
Toho Treasures: http://www.tohobeads.net/sample/card101_1a.html
Toho Triangles: http://www.tohobeads.net/sample/card5a.html
Toho Cubes: http://www.tohobeads.net/type/cube.html
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