shiroaiko

White ribbons, starting with bicolor base glass.

Marbles with green and blue ribbons.

Purple ribbons on bicolor base glass. The purple shines metallic although it is not a luster sheen. A few got bicolor stripes of purple and white.

The two have hybrid vanes. Seike is the maker who made Stripey cats. You would see white sand like bits which look like "fish disease" on the left. When I visited glass makers in Osaka, I asked questions about the spots whenever I went. Every one agrees that opaque white doesn't have such a problem in a natural situation of firing. My guess is Seike mixed refractory material which is made into powder with opaque white. The vanes are in a combination of yellow and orange for this marble.

The marbles from the family continue. 3 cat's eye marbles with uneven vanes. 2 marbles with a combination of a vane and ribbons. The light purple turns dark on the surface.

Thanks for the examples of American swirls. Ebay marbles are sometimes not reliable...

😃❤️

You are welcome.❤️I still have lots of pictures to be shared. Please look at them when you have time.

Thank you, akroorka, for your thoughtful comment. People here have already accumulated a lot of research on Japanese marbles. I believe that comes from love and pure interest for marbles. This makes a big encouragement for me to be here. Thank you for the opportunity to share and learn together.

Seike's cat’s eyes in different colors. . The yellow is like neon yellow. I enjoyed taking pictures of white-purple variants. I was fascinated by the shifts of colors. Some fracture. Bigger vanes always have the risk, when the colors are not compatible enough. I guess no marble makers put them in an oven for annealing.

Yes, we are thankful for the story and the marbles Reiko shared with us. I think the variety of marbles convey the passion Naoyuki had about marbles. He loved experiments. Did you know? The purple ribbon marble which caught your eyes also appears in Ziggysora's 2012 post at AAM, "Japan striped vintage marbles, Figure 8". All the color varieties are included in the marbles from the family.

Happy to hear that you got Naoyuki Seike's marbles! Is Canada the source of your marbles? When I posted the marbles from the Seike family first in AAM, no one knew his marbles. Later Elizabeth A. Kempski got a Duck Agate box from Australia.

Marbles with orange vanes. Some ribbed vanes count 12. A group of three. A combination of thick vanes (opaque orange) and wispy structure (transparent orange). Another group of 6 marbles in orange. Some got tinted base glass. One big vane in the center. One submerged ribbon. One marble has a big spidery cutline. Others got smooth ones which are not noticeable.

My interest in Duck Marbles started from the brochures illustrated in “Marbles/Biidama” (2003) by Yukoh Morito, a well-known marble collector in my country who passed away in 2016. In 1992 he founded Japan Marble Association, making a partnership with this forum and Marble Collectors Society of America in the following year. His book “Marbles” features a Japanese marble history section for two pages. On page 29 is where we find the brochures of Nippon Special Glass Ball Mfg. Co. Ltd.. The company’s brand was Duck Marbles. According to the brochures, the company started its business in Hanaten, Osaka city in 1924. The founder, Naoyuki SEIKE, says he and his team of college graduated engineers invented a semi-automatic manufacturing process for marble making at that time. He also refers to American invention of marble machines in 1900 ca.. The brochure in Japanese was printed in 1951, whereas the English version was published in 1952. He had obtained more than 20 patents and utility model rights from Japan Patent Office. The monthly marble production reached 50,000,000 in 1952. (but the monthly production in 1951 was 400,000.) The original brochures were contributed by Seishin Seike, the second son of Naoyuki Seike, to the book. The surname Seike is nothing like Suzuki (mine). Also the first name Seishin is very uncommon. I saw a light of hope in this fact and started a search for the contact information of the same name person. I reached his wife Reiko (85), in Hirakata city, Osaka on 7 Dec. 2021. Below is what I learned from the lady on the phone. Naoyuki Seike, her father-in-law, ran a marble factory in Hanaten and that he made marbles was true. But it was a long time before her marriage that Naoyuki's business had ended and went bankruptcy. Reiko married to Seishin in 1960, a union arranged by her senior brother who worked as a surgeon in Maizuru, Kyoto. Seishin was the second son of Naoyuki. When they met, Seishin was not young (30). He had already been working for Zojirushi Magic Pot company in Hanaten as an engineer, where he led his team to a success of the first electric rice cooker. After 3 years of their marriage, in 1963, Naoyuki passed away at the age over 90. Before his death each of his children was given a bucketful of glass marbles he had kept. His 3 boys were all engineers including one who died very early in his late teens or 20’s. He was the first son who died in an accident where he fell from the marble factory’s roof during a repair. Sadly, Seishin passed away more than 10 years ago. Reiko kept the bucket since then. She assured that the marbles she had now in her apartment were originally inherited from her father-in-law. She washed the marbles and sent half the bucket to me. I opened a box full of marbles at night on 10 Dec.

davesnothere, opinions are welcomed. I understand your point that we should be cautious...yet the box was sold at 2390 Japanese yen, approximately 16 US dollars. I wonder what is the point of selling a box at such a low price, if someone wanted to make money out of a fake box. Something I felt interesting is the changing images of Santa Claus. 1929 (Showa 4) registered trademark publication by Ukichi Yasuda. The address is Sakai-city, Osaka. The main product of Yasuda at that time was glass bangles for Indian market. I don't know if Yasuda made glass marbles then for sure. A pre-war Santa Claus box exported to India. The address is Shiba, Amami-mura, Osaka, where Yasuda's marble factory was in operation from 1933 (Showa 8). Ukichi Yasuda had to stop producing marbles due to the war, and in 1944 (Showa 19) the factory was sold to the current owner. From "Record of Manchuria-China Industrial Development: Commemorative Issue for North China Development", 1938 (Showa 13). Ukichi Yasuda has two factory addresses; the one in Shiba, Amami-mura and the one in Hanyu-mura (both locations are in Osaka.) I could not locate the address in Hanyu-mura. Reapplication of the registered trademark by Ai Yasuda, 1949 (Showa 24). The address is Tamate, Kokubu-cho, Osaka. Ai is a female name. The UY is still seen on the Santa's clothes. The blue-eyed Santa Claus from the ohajiki box. JIS Z6206 means Japanese export from 1950 Dec. to 1953 Nov.. JIS S4004 means Japanese export from 1953 Dec. to 1962 Feb.. A cat's eye box that E. A. Kempski owns.

Thank you Ric, for a big encouragement. I will post the original marbles photos from the Seike family soon. I reached Reiko Seike, a wife of Naoyuki's second son in 2021 Dec., and Reiko shared some marbles with me.

Thinking of the time and my culture, the viewing was really something. Seike must have been very honored with it!

Thanks for the kind words! My username doesn’t actually mean anything specific—it’s just a combination of my first cat’s name and my own. Glad you enjoyed the post❤️

This is an article from " Glass World " magazine, 1932 Nov. issue. It describes "Naoyuki Seike's glass marbles" (硝子マーブル　清家直行) were viewed by the emperor at Osaka Prefectural Trade Hall on 15 Nov. 1932.　"天覧硝子製品"　means glass products which were viewed by the emperor.

I was trying to figure out what was mentioned in the certificates, and I could read the half of one. Commemorative Certificate/紀念状 Naoyuki Seike/清家直行 His Majesty the Emperor/天皇陛下 At the Osaka Prefectural Trade Hall/大阪府立貿易館ニ於イテ天覧 This certificate is presented as a memento/本状　紀念トス Showa 7 (1932)/昭和七年 Governor of Osaka Prefecture/大阪府知事 I could recognize the words written on the certificate, because of the 1932 "Glass World or Garasu-kai" magazine, November issue. The article describes that ”Naoyuki Seike’s glass marbles” （硝子マーブル　清家直行） were among "the glass products viewed by His Majesty the Emperor" (天覧硝子製品） at the Osaka Prefectural Trade Hall.

You're welcome. Have you checked my recent post of Duck marble advertisement already? Seike's marbles were of Duck brand, although it is likely he only started to use the band name after the war. One page of the brochures got pictures of 4 awards. The contents of "Awards" might have something to do with them... "Awards: Honored by an Imperial Viewing, Two Patents, Granted an Invention Encouragement Prize/受賞　賜天覧光栄　特許二件　発明奨励金下附"　

LevvyPoole, thanks for letting me know! The green is really intense...as akroorka says, this is a batch glass marble which was made from raw ingredients using a factory's own recipe. Seike made his own glass and his transitionals are crease pontils. I searched for mine and found an example using intense blue. Seike was not only engaged in the production of marbles but also conducted research on glass, glass-melting furnaces, and marble making equipment. ”大日本産業録　Dai Nippon Sangyō Roku (Great Japan Industrial Record)”, compiled by the East Asia Industrial Promotion Association, published by Kōshinsha, 1938. Manufacture and Sale of Glass Marbles for Export / 輸出向硝子マーブル製造販売 Research and Manufacture of High-Quality Glass / 高級ガラスの研究並び製造 Design and Construction of Patented Seike-Style Glass Furnaces / 特許清家式硝子窯設計築造 Seike Hard Glass Research Institute, Naoyuki Seike / 清家硬硝研究所　清家直行 779-5 Hanaten-chō, Asahi-ku, Osaka City / 大阪市旭区放出町七七九ノ五 Telephone: 2801 Telegraphic Code: (Se) or (Seike) / 電話二八〇一番　電略（セ）又は（セイケ） Chief of the factory: Shuichi Utsunomiya / 主任　宇都宮　修一 Employees: 45, Place of Origin: Ehime Prefecture / 従業員45名　出身地　愛媛県 Founded in Taishō 13 (1924) / 創業　大正十三年　 Bank: Sanwa Namazue Branch / 銀行　三和鯰江支店　 Awards: Honored by an Imperial Viewing, Two Patents, Granted an Invention Encouragement Prize/受賞　賜天覧光栄　特許二件　発明奨励金下附　 Branch: 4 Isobe-dori, Kobe City / 支店　神戸市磯邉通四 Factory: Same Location (in Hanaten), 5 Horsepower / 工場　同所　動力五馬力

For me, your country was like a treasure box... of old Japanese marbles that we couldn't find in such a huge amount. I live in Yamagata, a small northern town, where marble finds are so less. I love English wisplers from my heart.