Tomioka silk mill
Encyclopedia
Spinning (textiles)
Spinning is a major industry. It is part of the textile manufacturing process where three types of fibre are converted into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. The textiles are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. There are three industrial processes available to spin yarn, and a...
factory, established in 1872 by the government to introduce modern machine silk reeling from France and spread its technology in Japan. The factory is designated by the government as a historical site and all its buildings are preserved in very good condition. It is a big factory in the old city of Tomioka
Tomioka
Tomioka may refer to:*Tomioka, Fukushima, a town in Fukushima Prefecture**Tomioka Station, a railway station*Tomioka, Gunma, a city in Gunma Prefecture**Tomioka silk mill*Tomioka Castle...
, in Gunma prefecture
Gunma Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the northwest corner of the Kantō region on Honshu island. Its capital is Maebashi.- History :The remains of a Paleolithic man were found at Iwajuku, Gunma Prefecture, in the early 20th century and there is a public museum there.Japan was without horses until...
, Japan. It is located about 100 km northwest of Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
.
History
Soon after the Meiji RestorationMeiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
in the late 19th Century, the Japanese Government hastened the modernization of Japan to catch up with European countries. Japanese raw silk was the most important export and sustained the growth of Japan’s economy at that time. During this boom, however, the Japanese silk industry began to sacrifice the quality of its silk for quantity, which rapidly harmed the reputation of Japan as a raw silk manufacturer. As a result, the national government decided to establish the Tomioka Silk Mill as a model filature facility equipped with the most sophisticated machinery, so as to improve the quality of raw silk.
In 1870, Paul Brunat, who worked in a French trading company in Yokohama
Yokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, researched suitable locations for a silk mill in the Kanto region
Kanto region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....
and selected the site in Tomioka City
Tomioka, Gunma
is a city located in Gunma, Japan.As of April 1, 2011, the city had an estimated population of 52,677 . The total area is 122.90 km²....
from among the candidates.
The construction began in 1871 and was completed in July the next year. Three months later the factory started operation. In the beginning, there were 150 silk reeling machines (300 basins), and about 400 female workers operated the machines in the mill. The lifestyle of the workers has been recorded in the diary of one, Wada Ei
Wada Ei
was a textile worker and memoirist during the Meiji Era in Japan, daughter of samurai from Matsushiro, Shinano Province. She is known for writing a memoir called the "Tomioka Diary" in which she chronicled her life among the female workers in the Tomioka silk mill.She was among the daughters of...
.
Tomioka Silk Mill concentrated on offering high-quality raw silk. But even though their silk enjoyed a good reputation overseas for its high quality, the business was always in the red. Even after reducing costs, they continued to suffer from chronic deficits and as a result the government decided to privatize Tomioka Silk Mill and transferred its business to the Mitsui Finance Group
Mitsui
is one of the largest corporate conglomerates in Japan and one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world.-History:Founded by Mitsui Takatoshi , who was the fourth son of a shopkeeper in Matsusaka, in what is now today's Mie prefecture...
in 1893. In 1902 it was transferred again, from the Mitsui Finance Group to the Hara Company.
In 1939 (the 14th year of the Showa Era), Tomioka Silk Mill was transferred to Katakura Industries Co., Ltd, the largest silk reeling company in Japan. Tomioka Silk Mill contributed actively to the growth of Japan’s economy during and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Tomioka Silk Mill was closed in March 1987, but it is still well looked after as a historical site.
In 2005 Tomioka Silk Mill was designated by the government as a historical site and was transferred to Tomioka city.