WoodysGlassFloats.com
Welcome Float Collectors
Hello, my name is Charles Woodward, aka Woody. I am a 40 something year old American living on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa. Here on this site I will share my passion of collecting Japanese glass fishing net floats with you. This site is not intended to be all inclusive of every type float found. My home page is a place for me to display my collection and share only a small portion of the knowledge I have gained throughout the years about floats and their history.
Welcome to my web site.
Glass floats were produced first in Europe during the early 1800s. It wasn't until the early 1900s that Japanese started manufacturing floats for the fishing industry of northern Japan. Although floats haven't been produced since the 70s, countless floats can still be observed on Japanese fishing nets. Most fishermen have no idea where they came from, they have always been there, passed down through generations of family.
General Float Trivia
Common Misconceptions:
Fact is fishermen don't care about the color of their floats.
Purple floats were used by the Japanese Emperor's fleet.
Tri-mold floats are Korean.
Tri-molds are Japanese. Enough have been found in Japanese ports to debunk the myth. All Korean floats are crudely made and deformed.
Water in floats was caused by pressure at depth.
False. Water intered the float through a flaw in the glass. Check the sealing button carefully and you will likely discover one.
Floats are no longer made in Japan.
True. Although floats are no longer made for the fishing industry, they are still used in some types of fisheries in northern Japan. Asahara glass of Otaru does make special orders of floats, but mainly concentrates on ornamental lamps.
Although fishermen still use glass floats, the majority of the time they are found in old rubble such as the shack below. Much like an archeologist searching for clues to ancient civilizations, data about floats and their past uses are garnered in the same manner.
A Fisherman's Shack....Long Abandoned
