The literal meaning of <i>Kodama</i> is small beads. In the glass beads excavated from Japanese ancient tombs the presence of rows of bubbles running parallel to the hole of a bead is often observed. Also, etching patterns are found on the ends of beads. The author thought that these bubbles and etching patterns were closely related with the tube cutting method of bead production, and prepared glass beads experimentally from hand-blown glass tubes; further, these beads were etched with hydrofluoric acid. The results indicated that the ancient beads seem to have been made by the tube cutting method. The provenance of the beads seems to be limited to the place where the hand-blown tube was available. -- AATA