This is an archive of the world's glasses, tools, and reference books for learning about the history of eyeglasses.
Here you can experience first hand some of the changes in eyeglass function and style through the ages.
Beginning with our hand-made glasses,
all the glasses we sell are made in Japan.
We would love for you to experience the excellence of Japanese artisanal manufacturing through our eyewear.
Sabae City in Fukui Prefecture is famous as a world-class eyeglass production center.
The eyeglass industry there, which accounts for more than 90% of domestic production, is facing an existential crisis.
We at Kaneko Optical have been drawn to the superb artisanal work of these craftsmen, and have confronted this crisis hand-in-hand with many of them, but the region's fortunes continued to decline.
To shoulder our responsibility in revitalizing the region, we embarked on the building of our own workshop in 2006, which we called BACKSTAGE.
In 2008, we also opened THE STAGE in the historic and traditional Shibakawa Building in Osaka.
We want as many people as possible to learn with depth and clarity about the Japanese artisanal manufacturing tradition.
THE STAGE is a space for connecting people with the craftsmanship culture of Sabae City in Fukui Prefecture, center of Japanese eyeglass manufacturing.
Our goal is to convey a multifaceted appreciation for artisanal manufacturing, which until now craftsmen had no opportunity to do.