"Glass beads" are small beads made of glass. Japanese glass beads are of high quality and are favored both in Japan and around the world. After World War II, "TOHO" was founded in 1951 as a glass bead company with the aspiration of brightening and developing Hiroshima by producing colorful beads. The company has been loved all over the world.

The production of glass beads requires as many as 30 processes and is made through a complex manufacturing process. The original glass material, coloring materials, and other ingredients are mixed, melted, and blended together, and the craftsman then manipulates the heated block of glass at will. The glass melted in the furnace spreads slowly like magma when placed on the table, and the molten glass is quickly gathered together with a single scissors-like tool. The molten glass is then quickly brought together with a single scissors-like tool. The mixed glass is made into long, thin rods, at which point a cavity is formed inside the rod, which is then cut to approximately the shape and size of a bead. After this, the beads are heated again to round the corners, cleaned and glazed, and the finishing processes such as coloring are repeated, and finally, the finished product is checked by human eyes.

The finished glass beads have two characteristics: first, the holes in the beads are large, and second, there is little variation in shape. When using beads to make embroidery or handmade accessories, you want to thread the beads, but the needle does not go through the small holes easily. When using large quantities of beads, it is time-consuming to sort out the small-sized beads mixed in. The desire to eliminate these problems as much as possible led to the creation of TOHO glass beads. In addition to improving the appearance of the work, this is a very pleasant feature for beaders.
　
Even today, craftsmen are putting their hearts and souls into each and every glass bead they make, and they are taking on new challenges, such as the production of "light-storing beads" that glow in the dark by processing beads with light-storing pigment that absorbs ultraviolet light, and the installation of TOHO BEADS art in the elevator hall interior at Asa Municipal Hospital. The artwork of TOHO BEADS has been adopted and installed in the interior of the elevator hall of the Asa Municipal Hospital, and continues to be loved by customers. Glass beads have been recognized as "The Hiroshima Brand," a specialty product of Hiroshima, and the company continues to promote the appeal of glass beads from Hiroshima to the rest of the world.