----------------------------------- sanji Tue Aug 28, 2007 5:28 am Tomioka Silk Mill (Gunma-ken) [E] ----------------------------------- Location : Tomioka Silk Mill (富岡製糸場) Prefecture : Gunma-ken Attractions : Japan's oldest modern model silk reeling factory, established in 1872 with the help of French specialists. It is also the only factory established by the Meiji government in the 1870s that has been preserved. 680Opening Time : 9:00am - 5:00pm (reception closes at 4:30pm); there are free tours (duration : 50 minutes) starting at 10:00am, 11:00am, 1:00pm, 2:00pm, 3:00pm, 4:00pm (the latter only from April to September) Price : 500 yen Address : Tomioka-shi, Gunma-ken Access : check train - go first to Takasaki (by shinkansen or normal JR train), and then take the Joshin Elc. Railroad to Joshu-Tomioka (37 min, 770 yen); the place is 1 km from the station. car - from Tokyo, take the highway toward Nagano and exit at Tomioka I.C.; It is a short 3 km trip to the place. Internet : http://www2.city.tomioka.lg.jp/worldheritage/en/index.html Phone : 0274-62-1511 T RED Tomioka Silk Mill rail Joshu-Tomioka station History In the movie Tomioka Nikki) in which she chronicled her life in the silk mill. Together with the good working conditions (8 hours per day instead of the usual 12 hours, 1 rest day per week), the care taken of the employees (a small hospital was built together with the factory), the presence of those daughters of important persons quickly create an emulation, and the Tomioka silk mill became very popular. 350-500 women were operating the machines of the factory. The French staff stayed on site the first 4 years of operation, before being discharged in 1976. It was supposed that the financial burden of hiring foreign supervisors rendered the factory not profitable. Even after the dismissal, the Tomioka silk mill continued to be always in the red, and the governement finally decided to privatize it in 1893. It continued to operate until 1987, when the factory was finally closed down. It was finally closed in 1987, when its value as a cultural and historical site started to be evaluated. In 2005, it was designated as a historical site, and in 2007, the site was registered on the Visit You can either visit the premises by yourself, or take a free tour starting every hour (see above); this tour in only in Japanese, does not visit places you can not go by yourself but can be quite informative if you understand the language. Two buildings can be visited, while the others can only be seen from outside - unfortunately. 682East Cocoon Warehouse (東繭倉庫) First building seen by visitors, as it is located just in front of the main entrance, this large warehouse (12m × 104m) is constructed in an original style, copying with some modification the French construction techniques. Bricks are framed with wooden beams. And while only bricks of same size are used, but they are placed alternatively on their large and small size; since those size have a 2:1 ratio, it creates a typical design which is often found in Europe, but virtually unknown in Japan. The first part of the silk production was taken on the second floor of that building. The silk comes from cocoons built by silk moth pupae, who were grew up in that building. For 6 weeks, the pupae ("silkworms") eat mulberry leaves, when it reaches a length of 7.5 cm, it starts to build its cocoon made of one silk filament; this process takes 3 days, and the length of the filament produced reaches almost 1000 meters! Before the moth hatches, it is killed by hot water or vapor to preserve the cocoon. The cocoon were then transfered to the Manufacturing Plant building. 685686 683Manufacturing Plant (繰糸場) The largest building （12.3m×140m）, where the production of silk thread was made. The process is quite simple... at least theoretically. Cocoons are brushed to get some filaments, which are joined together and wound on a wheel. To produce 1 kg of raw silk, around 5500 cocoons are required. The great think in that building is that the silk reeling machines used for the production are still there, and can be observed in details (they are unfortunately covered with some transparent plastic sheets, probably to preserve them better). A TV screen presents a 3-minutes movie to describe all steps in details. There are about 7 production lines - all looking quite similar - in that building. 684Brunat House This elegant building was used by Paul Brunat himself, and later became a cultural center. Visitors can not go inside, though... In the immediate vicinity is the doctor's office, as well as a small hospital. West Cocoon Warehouse (西繭倉庫) Another large warehouse - which has the same dimension as the East one. Again visitors are not allowed inside, but can appreciate the size from outside. In this building, the moths were nursed on the upper floor, while coal was stored on the ground floor. 681Administrative Buildings Built only 1 year after the factory itself, those buildings are much more elegant - a clear sign that the construction techniques improved during this small laps of time. Video A small video from youtube showing an abstract of a TV program, in Japanese, dedicated to that silk mill. http://www.youtube.com/v/8kg8TzGDdf0 Links [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomioka_silk_mill]Wikipedia : Tomioka silk mill [url=http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5094/]UNESCO Tentative List : The Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Industrial Heritage [url=http://www.pref.gunma.jp/cts/PortalServlet?DISPLAY_ID=DIRECT&NEXT_DISPLAY_ID=U000004&CONTENTS_ID=4558]Gunma Prefecture, official site : Check the "Industrial Heritage", in English, for details of other related industrial heritage sites [url=http://www.i-candi.co.uk/history-of-silk.htm]The History of Silk : A good text to learn more about the silk making process. (those links provided background to write this guide)