It is said that Kagaya Kyubei, who ran a glassware wholesaler in Oodenma-cho in Edo, started cutting glass works of foreign glassware brought in by Europeans since  Tenpo period (1830-1844). In the Meiji period, Western-style cutting and sculpting techniques were introduced by technical instruction of the British. Many of the sophisticated cutting techniques which have led to the present day are supposed to start at this time.