Ando Cloisonné Company

Owari province was one of the foremost production centres of enamel in the country. During the Edo period the Andō family operated a pipe shop called "Murata-ya". Andō Jubei (Jusaburo) (1876–1953) was born in Nagoya as the fourth child, with three elder sisters. His mother died in May 1877 following an illness, and his father followed in September 1877. Orphaned at less than one year old, he was raised according to his father's will by staff employers. His older sister married Andō Juzaemon, whose birth name was Matsukichi. Together with his brother-in-law, they made the cloisonné company a success. In 1893, Andō Juzaemon went to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. It was his first time to travel overseas, and he used the opportunity to study the market. In 1901, Andō Jubei went to the Glasgow International Exhibition, which was his first overseas travel, and he stayed for two years in a British home to study the market.

After they returned to Japan, they invited Kawade Shibatarō (1856–1921) as head of the studio, who further developed plique-à-jour. Cloisonné experienced strong growth around the time of the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900. Japanese enamel work became sought after in the West, and many pieces were sourced from Toshima, which is the origin of Owari cloisonné.

As of 1918, at least fifty cloisonné artists were working there. The company was given an Imperial Warrant of Appointment to the Japanese court. Andō cloisonné was also presented as state gifts. Manchukuo Prime Minister Zheng Xiaoxu (1860–1938) wrote four Chinese characters in calligraphy in praise of a vase that was presented to him as a gift.

It is one of the very few traditional cloisonné companies still left in Japan. The main store in Sakae has a small museum with objects by various artisans and designers of the Andō company, as well as Namikawa Sōsuke. Objects from Ando are held in the collection of the Walters Art Museum and in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Collaborations and contemporary practice

In 2008, the company entered into a collaboration with Grand Seiko to produce cloisonné dials. More recently, Ando Cloisonné made the dials for Seiko's 110th Anniversary limited edition of its "Presage" wristwatches in 2018. Ando has collaborated with Japanese and international artists and designers such as Hella Jongerius and Philippe Malouin, and was selected in 2025 to take part in the second edition of the Craft x Tech initiative. The programme is an exploration of how traditional "aesthetic sensibilities embedded in Japanese craft can be reimagined through a thoughtful and skilful creative process" and reinterpreted through the lens of contemporary technology and design. Ando Cloisonné has also collaborated with companies like Toyota, and has worked on the restoration of historical monuments such as Nagoya Castle's Honmaru Palace, and the ornamentation of important new buildings including the Kyoto State Guest House.