UNESCO · Cultural · 2014
Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites
富岡製糸場と絹産業遺産群とみおかせいしじょうときぬさんぎょういさんぐんTomioka Seishijō to Kinu Sangyō Isan-gunThe factory and farms that made Japan the world's silk supplier
Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites in Gunma Prefecture comprises a model silk-reeling factory founded by the Meiji government in 1872 with French technology and three sites of sericulture innovation — a farmhouse, a school and a natural cold storage for silkworm eggs. Inscribed in 2014, they show how Japan mechanised raw silk production and became the world's leading silk exporter.
Overview
In the 1860s raw silk became Japan's most important export, but hand-reeled thread was uneven and European demand for quality was rising after silkworm disease had devastated production in France and Italy. The new Meiji government therefore built a state model factory at Tomioka in the silk-farming region of Gunma, with French reeling machinery and the French engineer Paul Brunat as director. Opened in 1872, it was one of the largest mechanised silk mills in the world.
The buildings, designed by Auguste Bastien, combine a timber frame with brick infill laid in Flemish bond and roofs of Japanese tiles — a hybrid of French industrial architecture and Japanese carpentry. Young women from across Japan came to train as reelers and then carried the techniques to mills in their home provinces. Sold to the private sector in 1893, the mill passed to Mitsui, the Hara company and finally Katakura Industries, which ran it until 1987 and maintained it afterwards; it is now owned by the city of Tomioka.
The three related sites illustrate innovations in the rearing of silkworms that supplied the mills: the ventilated rearing house of Tajima Yahei, the Takayama-sha school that spread a method of temperature and humidity control, and the Arafune cold storage, where eggs were kept in natural cold air to allow several harvests a year.
Why it is World Heritage
UNESCO recognised two criteria. Tomioka is an outstanding example of the transfer of silk production technology from France to Japan, and of Japan's own innovations that in turn made high-quality raw silk affordable for a mass market worldwide (criterion ii).
The ensemble of mill and associated farms is an outstanding example of an integrated complex for the production of raw silk, from egg production and rearing to reeling, at the moment when Japan entered the ranks of industrial nations; the mill's buildings are a key example of the adaptation of Western industrial architecture in Japan (criterion iv).
Component sites
Tomioka Silk Mill
富岡製糸場Tomioka SeishijōThe model factory of 1872 in Tomioka, with its reeling hall and East and West cocoon warehouses, designated National Treasures in 2014, and Brunat's residence; the reeling hall retains its roof trusses and the automatic reeling machines of its final years.
Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm
田島弥平旧宅Tajima Yahei KyūtakuFarmhouse in Isesaki built in 1863 by the sericulture pioneer Tajima Yahei, with a ridge ventilator on its roof for his method of rearing silkworms in well-ventilated rooms (seiryo-iku).
Takayama-sha Sericulture School
高山社跡Takayama-sha-atoFarmhouse and school in Fujioka where Takayama Chogoro developed and taught seion-iku, a method balancing ventilation and warmth; it trained silk farmers from across Japan and abroad.
Arafune Cold Storage
荒船風穴Arafune FūketsuStone-lined pits in the mountains of Shimonita, built from 1905, where cold air flowing from crevices in the rock kept silkworm eggs dormant so that rearing could be timed for several seasons.
History
1859
Opening of the port of Yokohama; raw silk becomes Japan's leading export.
1863
Tajima Yahei builds his ventilated sericulture house.
1872
The government's Tomioka Silk Mill begins operation under Paul Brunat.
1884
Takayama Chogoro founds the Takayama-sha sericulture school.
1893
The mill is sold to Mitsui.
1905
Construction of the Arafune cold storage begins.
1939
Katakura Industries takes over the mill.
1987
The mill ceases operation.
2014
Inscription on the World Heritage List; the main mill buildings become National Treasures.
Visiting
- The silk mill is a short walk from Joshu-Tomioka Station on the Joshin Electric Railway from Takasaki, about 40 minutes from the Shinkansen station there.
- Guided tours in the mill explain the reeling process, the buildings and the lives of the female workers; the restored West Cocoon Warehouse houses exhibitions.
- The three related sites are spread across southern Gunma: Tajima Yahei's house in Isesaki is still a private residence and is largely seen from outside, while the Takayama-sha site in Fujioka is maintained by the city; Arafune lies in the mountains of Shimonita and is best reached by car.
Frequently asked questions
Why was a French engineer chosen for Tomioka?
France was the leading European silk-reeling nation, and Paul Brunat, a silk inspector working in Yokohama, proposed the plan and equipment for the mill to the Meiji government.
Who worked at Tomioka Silk Mill?
Young women recruited from many prefectures, often from samurai families, who trained as reelers and then introduced the techniques in other mills; one of them, Wada Ei, left a well-known memoir.
Is the silk mill still operating?
No. Production ended in 1987. The buildings are preserved by the city of Tomioka as a museum site.
What is a fuketsu?
A fuketsu is a cave or rock crevice from which naturally cold air flows. At Arafune, stone-walled pits over such crevices served as refrigerators for silkworm eggs.
Related
Sources
- 1.Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites (opens in a new tab) — UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- 2.日本の世界遺産一覧 (opens in a new tab) — 文化庁
- 3.世界遺産 富岡製糸場 (opens in a new tab) — 富岡市