The Tonbotama Exhibition 2020 is a special event taking place at the Kobe Lampwork Glass Museum until January 5th, 2021. The exhibition explores the beauty of these "dragonfly balls", or tonbotama, which are decorative balls made using a lampwork glass technique.
Tonbotama have been used for a variety of reasons over the years. Along with the simple joy of appreciating them for decoration's sake alone, they have also been used as amulets for protection and for trade purposes.
The event showcases tonbotama from several different glass artists, including Sachi Ishikawa, Ryo Ono, Hideya Uemura, and Kristen Frantzen Orr. Adult admission to the exhibition is 400 yen.
