Tomioka Silk MillThe first full-scale raw silk factory to introduce machine-reeling technology from France
Following the opening of the port in 1859, the Meiji government established Tomioka Silk Mill in 1872 to boost theHistory production and quality of raw silk, which accounted for the majority of Japan’ s exports. Tomioka Silk Mill wasequipped with western technologies including a steam engine and reeling machines from France. It was from herethat machine-reeling technology was transmitted to all of Japan. Even after privatization, the silk mill continued tobe at the forefront of silk reeling technology advancement, and led the development and dissemination of improved
species of silkworms (F1 hybrids) in collaboration with sericulture farmers. In 1952, the newly developed automatic
reeling machine was fully adopted and Tomioka Silk Mill became a model factory for automation. However, in 1987
Tomioka Silk Mill ceased operations due to the impact of global price competition on raw silk, bringing an end to115 years of raw silk production.

▲Interior of silk reeling plant

Highlights▲East cocoon warehouse▲Iron water tank

▲Brunat house

A magnificent cluster of buildingsthat tells the history

Buildings dating from the early Meiji era when Tomioka Silk
Mill was first founded remain nearly unchanged. They are thefirst large-scale factory buildings in Japan and feature a mix ofeast and west techniques.
● Silk-reeling Plant

This facility central to the silk mill is where raw silk was reeledfrom cocoons. The 140m-long timber-framed brick building
houses the automatic reeling machines that stand exactly as
they were when operation stopped.
● Cocoon Warehouses

There are 2 cocoon warehouses located in the east side andt h e we s t s i d e o f t h e g r o u n d s . B o t h wa r e h o u s e s a r e
104m-long, 2-story buildings.

● Iron Water Tank（Generally closed to the public.）

This water tank that supplied water to the mill was built in
1875. It is the one of the oldest iron structures made in Japan.
● Brunat House（The inside is generally closed to the public.）

Paul Brunat, the French expert who supervised construction
and operations, lived with his family in this house.
VisitorInformation

08▲East cocoon warehouse

Address: 1-1 Tomioka, Tomioka City
Hours: 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.(last admission at 4:30 p.m.). Internet or fax reservations
are required for groups. Closed December 29th–31st. Occasionally closedfor inspection and maintenance.
Fee: Adults 1,000 yen, high school/university students 250 yen (show your student
ID card), and elementary/junior high school students 150 yen.
Directions: Approx. 15min. walk from Joshu-Tomioka Station, Joshin Dentetsu Line.
Approx. 10min. by car from Tomioka I.C., Joshinetsu Expressway to freeparking and 20 min walk from there. No parking available in the site.
Use the contact information/website below for the latest information, tour, and groupreservations.
Contact: Tomioka Silk Mill Information Center,Tomioka City TEL: +81-(0)274-67-0075
Inquiry of group bookings Reservation Center TEL+81-(0)274-67-0088
Website: http://www.tomioka-silk.jp/hp/index.html

MAP254

P
Joshu-Tomioka Stn.

Tomioka Silk Mill254★

Tomioka I.C.
09

Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm
Prototype of modern sericulture farmhouses utilizing a ventilation system on its tiled roof

Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm is located in Shimamura, an area where silkworm egg production thrived from theHistory Edo Period. Tajima Yahei studied sericulture methods for creating quality silkworm eggs and found great successwith seiryo-iku, a method that focused on ventilation. In 1863, a farmhouse with sericulture rooms equipped with araised roof was completed. According to Yosan-shinron [New Theory of Sericulture] and its companion publication,
Yosan Shinron, Sequel written by Yahei, this construction spread to other regions and became the prototype formodern sericulture farmhouse construction in Japan. In addition, Yahei and others transported silkworm eggs toItaly from 1879 to 1882 for direct sales (direct exports). At that time, Yahei studied silkworm diseases using
microscopes they brought back along with western culture. When Tomioka Silk Mill began efforts to improve
cocoons, Tajima Farm cooperated in the test rearing of foreign-bred silkworms and F1 hybrids.

Highlights The setting depicted in Yosan-shinron [New Theory of Sericulture]
There are several different structures still standing on Tajima Yahei
Sericulture Farm that are related to silkworm egg production, including thefarmhouse with sericulture rooms.
● Farmhouse with Sericulture Rooms
This is a 2-story building with a raised-roof equipped with a ventilation
system. The lower floor served as living quarters, and the upper floor wasused for silk worm rearing. The room has numerous windows and araised-roof runs along the entire length of the ridge. A microscope room
was added later in the north corner of the upper floor.
● Kuwaba (Storage for mulberry leaves)
Mulberry leaves were temporarily stored in this building and chopped intoa suitable size in accordance with silkworm growth.
● Well building
Because there were many floods in this region, wells that were important
to living and silkworm egg production were built on a foundation covered
with stonework, that was higher than the foundation of the living quarters.

10▲A woodblock print in Yosan-shinron◀Kuwaba(Storage for mulberry leaves)▲Farmhouse with sericulture rooms

VisitorInformation▲Well building

Address: 2243 Sakai-shimamura, Isesaki City
Visiting Areas: Visitors can view the farm’s yard and the first floor of Kuwaba(storage area
for mulberry leaves) since it is a private residence. Entrance into thebuilding is prohibited. Reservations are required for groups.
Directions: Approx. 20min. by taxi from JR Honjo Station. Approx. 20min. by car from
Honjo-Kodama I.C., Kan-Etsu Expressway. Park at “Shimamura Kaiko noFurusato Park.” or “Information Center of Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm”
Related facility: There is a small exhibition room at the Information Center for Tajima Yahei
Sericulture Farm (9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.). Closed at year’s end and New
Year’s.
Contact the information Center of Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm for the latest information andgroup reservations.
Contact: Cultural Property Protection Division, Isesaki City TEL: +81-(0)270-75-6672
Information Center for Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm TEL: +81-(0)270-61-5924
Website: http://www.city.isesaki.lg.jp/MAPP

17462

Information
Center★

Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm

Honjo Stn.

Honjo-Waseda stn.

Honjo-Kodama I.C.

1711

Takayama-sha Sericulture School
Birthplace of the seion-iku method, which became the standard for modern sericulture technology in Japan

Chogoro Takayama conducted research to boost the production and quality of cocoons. He established

History seion-iku, a method of carefully regulating ventilation, temperature and humidity. To disseminate the method, heorganized the Sericulture Improvement Takayama-sha Company in 1884. Takayama-sha accepted students in itsschools not only from Japan, but also from China and the Korean peninsula. They also sent teachers to otherlocations within Japan, as well as to China, Taiwan, and the Korean peninsula to give instruction on sericulture. Asa result, the seion-iku method became the standard for modern sericulture technology in Japan. This site where theseion-iku method originated, was utilized as a training school for sericulture for many years. When Tomioka Silk Millbegan efforts to improve cocoons, Takayama-sha cooperated in test rearing of foreign-bred silkworms and F1
hybrids, and provided breeding instruction to farmers.

▲Nagaya-mon gate

Highlights

Silkworm-raising room that madeskillful use of wind and fire

The farmhouse with sericulture rooms ideal for implementing theseion-iku method and facilities from the era when training took placestill remain at Takayama-sha Sericulture School.
● Farmhouse with Sericulture Rooms
This building constructed in 1891 followed Tajima Yahei’ s example ofa raised roof. Ventilation features include large sliding windows,transoms, vent holes beneath the silkworm shelves, and a slatted
ceiling. Features for temperature regulation include a sunken hearthon the lower floor, a brazier on the upper floor, and vent holes in thefloor. The silkworm-raising room on the upper floor is divided into 6
smaller rooms. Each room’ s temperature and humidity could beregulated.
● Mulberry Leaves Storage
This facility temporarily stored mulberry. The underground stoneworkis the only thing that remains of the building that once stood here.
● Nagaya-mon Gate
Built in the Edo Period, this was used for storage and to hold farmtools such as sericulture equipment.

▲Mulberry leaves storage▲Interior of a silkworm-raising room

MAP

Address: 237 Takayama, Fujioka City

Hours: 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Reservations are required for groups.
Visitor
Closed December 28th–January 4th
Information Directions: Approx. 35min. by bus from JR Gunma-Fujioka Station. Approx.
35min. by bus from JR Shinmachi Station. Approx. 20min. fromFujioka I.C., Joshinetsu Expressway.
Use the contact information below for the latest information and group reservations.
Contact: Cultural Property Protection Division, Fujioka City TEL: +81-(0)274-23-5997
Takayama-sha Information Center TEL: +81-(0)274-23-7703
Website: http://www.city.fujioka.gunma.jp/

12▲Farmhouse with sericulture rooms

Fujioka I.C.

GunmaFujioka Stn.

254

Yoshii I.C.

Takayama-sha
Sericulture School P★

Information Center13

Arafune Cold Storage

The largest cold storage facility for silkworm eggs in Japan that used natural cold airflow
From ancient times, sericulture in Japan was generally carried out once a year in spring. In the latter half of theHistory 19th century, people learned to control the number of annual rearing cycles by storing silkworm eggs in cold

storage into which a cool breeze blew even in summer. Senju Niwaya, who studied at Takayama-sha, discovered aplace in this area with cool airflow, and his father, Seitaro constructed a cold storage facility for silkworm eggs from1905 to 1914 under the instruction of experts in meteorology, sericulture, and civil engineering. Arafune Cold
Storage had the distinction of having the largest storage capacity in Japan and stored silkworm eggs from 40
prefectures in Japan, and also from the Korean peninsula. It contributed to an increase in the number of breeding
seasons and greater cocoon production. In addition, when Tomioka Silk Mill began efforts to improve cocoons, it
played a part in storing silkworm eggs used in test rearing.

▲Cold airflow at Arafune Cold Storage▲No.2 cold storage

Highlights Stonework through which cool air blows even in summer

In the area around Arafune Cold Storage, a cool breeze around 2℃ blows frombetween gaps in rocks even in the summer. To take advantage of this cool breeze,stonework was constructed on the mountain slope, then a mud-walled building
was built on top as a cold storage facility for silkworm eggs. The mountainsidestonework has gaps to allow the cool air to flow through, and the externalstonework on the valley side was sealed to prevent the cold air from escaping.
The cold storage facility has 3 levels, 2 underground and 1 above ground, thatwere used separately to coincide with the period in which the silkworm eggs weretransported. The stonework still stands today. The cold storage facility that wasbuilt first farthest back (upper part of the valley) is called No.1 cold storage. The ▲Reconstruction model
largest one in the middle is the No.2 cold storage, and the one in front that wasbuilt last is the No. 3 cold storage. In addition, an administrative building called MAP
Kozu
bansha was built on level ground created next to the No. 3 cold storage.
Dairy Farm Arafune Cold Storage
VisitorInformation

14▲No.1 cold storage (front right)

Address:10690-2 Minaminomaki-ko, Shimonita-machi, Kanra-gun
Hours: 9:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.（last admission at 3:30p.m.）. Reservations arerequired for groups. Closed to visitors in winter (December to March).
Entrance into the cold storage facilities is prohibited.
Fee:Adults 500 yen
Directions: Approx. 30min. by taxi from Shimonita Station, Joshin Dentetsu Line. Approx.
50min. by car from Shimonita I.C., Joshinetsu Expressway. / There are traffic
restrictions in the area.
Use the contact information below for the latest information.
Contact: Shimonita-machi History Museum TEL: +81(0)274-82-5345
Website: http://www.town.shimonita.lg.jp/PP★

※Traffic restricted

Cold Storage
Cool Breeze
Facility254 Shimonita-machi

ShimonitaI.C.

History Museum Shimonita Stn.

You can experience the cool breeze that blows
through the stonework at the Fuketsu Reifu
Taikenkan（Cold Storage Cool Breeze Facility）.
15