Discussion Papers In Economics
And Business

Flexibility and diversity:
the putting-out system in the silk fablic industryof Kiryu, Japan

Masaki Nakabayashi
Discussion Paper 06-10

Graduate School of Economics andOsaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP)
Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043, JAPANFlexibility and diversity:
the putting-out system in the silk fablic industryof Kiryu, Japan

Masaki Nakabayashi
Discussion Paper 06-10
April 2006

この研究は「大学院経済学研究科・経済学部記念事業」
基金より援助を受けた、記して感謝する。

Graduate School of Economics andOsaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP)
Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043, JAPANFlexibility and diversity:
the putting-out system in the silk fabric industryof Kiryu, Japan ∗Masaki Nakabayashi†
Osaka University
April 18, 2006

Abstract
We have seen many cases where the factory system emerges and realizes higher productivity in the process of industrialization. However, also seen in history is that othertypes of production organization have kept expanding and have reached at some high performance. For instance, the putting-out system rather than the factory system has sometimes been chosen in the fabric industry, where the flexibility of production and the variety
of products are especially important to respond to the fashion. This type of production
organization has prospered even during the industrialization since the 19th century, supported by the development of some modern technologies such as synthetic dyes. This
study inquires a case of the silk fabric industry in Kiryu, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. In
Kiryu, the traditional silk textile industry developed in the Tokugawa era, and the industry even grew more under the putting-out system during the industrialization in Japan
since the late 19th century, because the putting-out system with synthetic dying was the
optimal combination to realize the variety of products required in the mass consumption
in the industrial society.
Key Words: Governance of trades, Putting-out system, Industrial district, Japanese textile
industry, Repeated game.
JEL: L67, L14, N95.

∗

The author is thankful to Tetsuji Okazaki, Tomoko Hashino, Koichi Kameda, Stehpan D. McBride, Naofumi
Nakamura, and Haruhito Takeda for their helpful comments. This study has been partly supported by JSPS
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (No. 17330048, 17330077).
†
Corresponding address: Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University, Machikaneyama 1-7, Osaka 5600043, Japan. phone: +81-6-6850-5240. e-mail address: masaki@econ.osaka-u.ac.jp

1 Introduction
1.1 The putting-out system and the factory system
How did the industrialization of the silk fabric industry begin? During the process ofindustrialization, how did the putting-out system function, and how was it replaced by
the factory system? Japanese scholars of economic history seriously considered thesequestions in the 1950s. Many of their works during this time especially focused on the
traditional silk fabric industry, where the putting-out system eventually prevailed. These
works relied on Marxian economics,1 an approach which did not allow analysis of thecomparative efficiency among various institutions and organizations within the sector,
thus precluding a full assessment of the putting-out system and the factory system, eventhough Marxian economists had strong interest in the comparative analysis of institutions.
Further, these economic history works did not explicitly distinguish the technologicalchoice between handlooms and power looms and the putting-out system and the factory
system. As a result, although these works contributed to our understanding of the industry
they did not provide a comparative institutional analysis of the putting-out system and thefactory system.
Another approach used in understanding the industrialization of the silk fabric industry was the neoclassical economic one. This approach also relied on the idea of singletracked economic growth based on technological progress. Moreover, the neoclassicalapproach attributes the economic development in a sector exclusively to the technological progress implying that, again, the production organization within the sector was notconsidered.
The radicals2 challenged the assumption of both the traditional Marxist and neoclassical approaches that the factory system was technologically inevitable. Instead, theyargued that the factory system was preferred because it was advantaged at controlling andmonitoring workers and not necessarily associated with any technological improvementin productivity.
This challenge led to two strings of the literature. One of them explicitly analyzed
the efficiency of capitalist organizations, a line of inquiry which eventually responded tothe challenge of the radicals. These studies found that, as the radicals asserted, the division of labor and the hierarchical organizations that compose the centralized production
organization called the factory system were principally to control workers. However, as
Alfred Chandler, Oliver Williamson, and David Landes have pointed out, 3 the capitalist
factory system is centered at the efficient control of workers, thus linking organizational
form with technology and productivity.
The other line of research replaced the view of the radicals, by trying to reconstruct
the history of multiple-tracked economic development. Michael Piore and Charles Sable
argued that a decentralized production organization like the putting-out system which
consists of accumulated small businesses highly specialized in each process could be
1

Marx (1988).
Marglin (1974)
3
Chandler (1977), Williamson (1985), Landes (1969, 1986). Saito and Abe (1987) studied Japanese cotton
weaving industry based on the research by Landes (1969).
21

more efficient than a large scale factory system in “flexibility of production.”4

1.2 Return to the regional and micro analysis
The traditional approach to the stuffy of industrialization mainly focused on changes in
the micro-level of specific industries and emphasized the integral of those changes as the“industrial revolution.” This traditional approach was altered by revisionist views of theneoclassical approach to economic history, views which were based on the estimation ofmacroeconomic performance of nations supported by neoclassical economics. Nakamura(1983), for instance, pointed out that around 1900 the share of the traditional sector in theJapanese economy was much greater than that of the modern sector, the sector thought
to be under a Japanese “industrial revolution. This finding led him to assert that Japan’s
industrialization was incremental rather than revolutionary. In another critique, Crafts(1985) emphasized that the increase in total factor productivity in the modern sector was
not remarkable except for the cotton industry during the British industrial revolution.
The main implication of these works is that the modernization and growth of particular industries did not rapidly pervade the national economy, implying a relative slow
macroeconomic growth rate at the beginning of modernization. However, as we know
ex post, the early stages of industrialization of particular industries did herald importantchanges in some industries, and while the leading phenomenon cannot simultaneously beobserved in the aggregate performance of the national economy, the micro-level analysis
employed long ago still provides a good understanding of these early stage developments.
However, the industrialization of the silk textile sector extends beyond the use of large
factories with a boiler — the change most focused on by the traditional approach. Hudson(1986) found the “genesis of industrial capital” in the financing of the wool fabric industry by the regional community, and Berg and Hudson (1992) called for reinterpreting“industrial revolution” to include changes of the traditional sector in regional economies.
This point of view, in fact, has been shared by the literature on “proto-industrialization”
since Mendels (1972), which paid attention to the relation between the changes in regional economies and the international market, rather than to the aggregate economic
performance of the nation state, in order to understand the beginning of the industrialization.5 The study by Tanimoto and Abe (1995) is one example of a Japanese study whichassociates a changing regional economy with industrialization.
It is therefore necessary to discuss the leading changes in regional economies in order to more fully understand the real process of industrialization. Moreover, it must berecognized that the changes in regional economies leading to the industrial revolution
comprise a combination of possible choices of production organizations and technologies, rather than simply as a unique technology solution. Accordingly, the choice of production organization between the decentralized production organization (the putting-out
system) and the centralized production (the factory system) must be distinguished fromthe choice of production technology between handloom and power loom, as was in Saito
and Abe (1987). Related to this point, it is important to note that the choice of products
4

Sable and Zeitlin (1985, 1997). Motivated by Sable and Zeitlin, Tanimoto (1998) studied the putting-out
system of Japanese cotton industry, focusing on the labor supply of peasants.
5
Ogilvie and Cerman (1996).

2

strongly affects the chosen combination of technology and organization, as Minami, Ishii
and Makino (1982) clarified.
In conclusion, the constraints on production should be decomposed, separately identifying technological ones and institutional and organizational ones. The technologicalconstrains define what production is technologically feasible, while institutions and organizations determine efficiency within this feasibility. Even where there exists a technology suitable for the putting-out system, the putting-out system could still be inefficient,
for example if the manufacturer (putting-outer) and weavers (subcontractors) cheat eachother. In order for trades between the manufacturer and the weavers — who are physicallydistant — to be realized, there needs to exist a mechanism that governs the trade relationship.6 Efficient institutions, given technological feasibility, can be explicitly analyzed
by game-theoretic microeconomic theory. The descriptive insights of Chandler (1977),
Williamson (1985), etc. have been re-interpreted, extended and formally analyzed bygame theory and contract theory.7

1.3 Institutions and organizations in the silk fabric industry of
Kiryu
This study takes the silk fabric industry of Kiryu, Gunma Prefecture (Figure 1) in the
1900s as an interesting case to understand the efficiency of the putting-out system in achanging traditional industry.
Following established definitions in game-theoretic institutional analysis, this study
defines an “institution” as a Nash equilibrium strategy (plan of actions) where no player
has an incentive to deviate. For instance, if any agent follows the Civil Law, then the Civil
Law is an institution. It is also a Nash equilibrium strategy only if no individual deems
it advantageous not to follow it in some circumstance. If a strategy is a Nash equilibrium
only within a restricted group of agents, not in the whole society, then the strategy andrelevant agents compose an organization. Therefore, a firm is an “organization” (since
involved are not all people in the society to which the firm belong), and the putting-out
system where the manufacturer effectively controls the subcontracting weavers is also anorganization.
Since the mid 1880s, the factory system rapidly diffused among the silk reeling, cotton
spinning, cotton weaving, and, in some regions, the silk weaving industries. However, inKiryu, the silk weaving industry did not adopt the factory system during this period,
but rather kept the putting-out system. Interestingly, this maintenance of the traditionalorganization did not imply stagnancy in the silk fabric industry in Kiryu, in fact, theindustry production grew with the domestic demand from Tokyo. Regional macro level
data reveal that both the traditional weaving and traditional hand silk reeling grew. The
putting-out system which organized hand loom weavers continued to dominate. The Cityof Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, is a contrast to Kiryu as silk weaving factories with power
6
Governance of trade means designing an incentive mechanism such that a good Nash equilibrium is reached,
where honest trades are the best response to both of the buyer and the seller. Lack of governance of trade could
lead to a bad Nash equilibrium where cheating each other is the best response to both players such that trades are
actually not conducted. Aoki (2001), pp. 60-61.
7
Milgrom and Roberts (1992).

3

looms propagated using machine-reeled raw silk (Filature). Fukui mainly produced cheap
Habutae [a silk fabric with plain weave] which was exported to the U.S.
The silk fabric industry emerged in the mid 18th century in the Town of Kiryu, theState of Kozuke (renamed Gunma Prefecture after the Meiji Restoration) and neighboring
area, and developed remarkably after the early 19th century, mainly stimulated by thedemand from the Shogunate Capital Yedo (renamed Tokyo).8
Raw silk was Japans most important export after Japan adopted international free tradein 1859. Prior to the early 1880s, most of the exported raw silk was hand reeled raw silk
produced by peasants in Northern Kanto, Chubu, and Southern Tohoku. Subsequent to
the mid 1880s, exports to the U.S. increasingly constituted product from the modern silkreeling industry, which was centered in Nagano Prefecture. This trend expanded greatly
after 1900 when railway trunk lines built in East Japan greatly facilitated the movement of
raw silk, which was now increasingly brought to supply the modern silk reeling industry.
After this period, the only areas in which traditional hand reeling dominated were Kiryu,
Maebashi, Ashikaga, and Isezaki, the district where traditional silk fabric industry still
grew (Figure 1).9
Economic historians have examined the traditional silk fabric industry in Kiryu, but
did so in relation to a national transformation to a capitalist economy. The works published in this intellectual strain in the 1950s and 1960s presumed the putting-out system
was a backward production organization that should have been replaced by the factory
system because these works relied on Marxist single-track stage theory: the putting-out
system → the manufactory system → the factory system.10
The single-track stage theory underpinning this Marxist view implies that the adoptionof the factory system was irreversible. But in fact, at least before power looms were
equipped, the putting-out system continued to be viable and adopted.
In each region, the putting-out system and the factory system were chosen given theconditions of the region — a choice not solely based on the newest technology.11 In theweaving industry of Kiryu, the factory system equipped with hand looms had been chosen
to weave the luxury fabrics,12 while the putting-out system had been used for most other
8

Kiryu Orimonoshi Hensankai [Editorial Committee for the History of Kiryu weaving], ed., Kiryu orimonoshi, jokan [The history of Kiryu weaving, vol.1], Kiryu, 1935. Ishihara (1993). The Tokugawa Shogunate(Samurais’ government) had historically kept its stronghold in the loyalty of the lords in the East of Japan, andYedo in the East had been the Tokugawa Shogunate Capital (Samurais’ capital), while Kyoto in the West of Japan
has been the imperial capital. In 1868, during the Meiji Restoration, the imperial government supported by thelords in the West defeated the Tokugawa Shogunate, occupied Yedo, and renamed it Tokyo (that literally means
the “eastern capital”).
9
Nakabayashi (2003b), p. 134.
10
Representative works by the traditional approach are Ichikawa (1959, 1996). A slightly modified perspective was presented by Kimura citeyearKimura:1959a,Kimura:1959b,Kimura:1960,Kimura:1963, which recognized the putting-out system in Kiryu as a “decentralized manufactory.” All of these studies, however, considered
the putting-out system to be “backward” organization that should have been replaced by the “manufactory” system and the factory system. About Ashikaga, see Kudo (1962), pp. 90-91.
11
Saito (1984).
12
Kimura (1959a), pp. 385-399. Kimura (1960), p. 137. Hashino (1997), pp. 15-16. Also in Ashikaga, theluxury fabrics and the export Habutae [plain fabric] were woven in the factory system equipped with hand looms(Wasedadaigaku Keizaishigakkai [Society for economic history, Waseda University], ed., Ashikaga orimonoshi
jokan [History of the Kiryu weaving, vol.1], Ashikaga, Ashikaga Sen-i Dogyokai [The Textile Association of4

fabrics, until the factory system were equipped with power looms for most kinds of fabrics
after the late 1910s.13 Instead of being supplanted, the putting-out system developed anddispersed within Kiryu, especially from the 1860s to the 1900s, when the main productsof Kiryu were yarn-dyed silk fabrics14 . With the spread of production of yarn-dyed silk
fabrics, the throwing process, the finishing process, and the designing process, as well as
the weaving process came to be put out. Manufacturers decreased the production insideof their workshops and established subcontracting relations with the independent artisans.
This example suggests that the technological change induced by the change of products
to the yarn-dyed fabrics affected the change in production organization, strong evidence
against the single-track stage theory.

2 Formation of the industrial district
2.1 The silk fabric industry of Gunma Prefecture
The production of silk fabrics in Gunma Prefecture, including Kiryu, stagnated in the
1890s, decreased in the early 1900s, and then rapidly increased in the late 1900s. The
production of fabrics woven with blends of silk and cotton also increased significantly
after 1900.15

2.2 Growth of the hand silk reeling industry
The growth of the Kiryu weaving industry depended on the growth of the traditional silkreeling (hand-reeling) in the region. Hand-reeled raw silk had been traded at Maebashi
and Omama, but after free trade began in 1859 raw silk started to be exported reducing
the supply available to Kiryu.
This reduction in supply was absorbed by increasing production of silk fabrics woven
with imported cotton yarn in the short term, and by the increase of producing hand reeled
raw silk in the region in the long term.16 From the 1860s to the early 1870s, the supplyof raw silk to Kiryu steadily decreased, so manufacturers in Kiryu adjusted by increasing
production of fabrics woven with silk-cotton blends. Since the late 1870s, the productionof hand-reeled raw silk increased in Yamada County and the raw silk was supplied to
Ashikaga], pp. 208-300. Kosho((1963, 1972)), Kawamura((1987, 1995))
13
Tsujimoto (1978), p. 48. Kameda (1989), pp. 561-565. Hashino (1997).
14“Yarn dying” means material yarn is dyed before weaving. For the luxury fabrics that were dyed after
weaving, the cleaning and finishing processes undertaken after weaving were important, and those processes
were conducted inside the manufacturers’ workshops. In contrast, in the production of the yarn-dyed fabrics,
dying, arranging warps, cleaning yarn, throwing, re-reeling, and other preparation processes were important.
Because those processes needed special skills, the craftsmen who specialized in each process were relatively
important and were organized as subcontractors by manufacturers. Kimura (1959a, 1959b, 1961), Kawamura(1983, 1991).
15
Nakabayashi (2003a), pp. 27-28, Tables 1-1, 1-2.
16
Kawamura (198), p. 74. Kawamura (1983), pp. 171-178. Kawamura (1991), p. 49. Ichikawa (1996), p.
115. Kimura (1989). Kameda (1994). Nakabayashi (2003a), p. 29, Table 1-3.

5

Kiryu through Omama market.17 Moreover, the Ryomo Railway connecting Kiryu with
Maebashi, a big market for raw silk, was built in the late 1890s, increasing the supply ofavailable raw silk. Even with these changes in supply, quality was maintained. In fact, thehand-reeled raw silk produced in the neighboring area after 1900 was said to be the bestfor hand-weaving in Kiryu,18 which meant the regional specialization had been robustly
preserved.

2.3 Trades of material
Ro [fine gauze, leno], the representative luxury silk fabric of Kiryu, which was dyed after
weaving, was produced by a special raw silk called “Omama Hiraito”19 produced only in
the Town of Omama, Yamada County, and neighboring villages. Peasants produced thisvery high quality “Hiraito” to order; “Hiraito” was never traded in a market. The continuous relations between manufacturer and specialized producer were vital to a supply of
the raw material for the luxury dyed-after-weaving.20
Conversely, ordinary hand-reeled raw silk was traded in the Maebashi market and theOmama market. Weaving manufacturers purchased hand-reeled raw silk from peasantsin Yamada County and silk merchants in Maebashi through these markets. However, thisimpersonal market for raw silk was faced with the difficultly in assessing the quality of
raw silk. The quality of raw silk differed, with higher qualities garnering higher market
prices, but quality could only be identified by the buyer after it was woven into a fabric.
This represented a problem for the market as a seller had an incentive to cheat buyers byclaiming that his product was of a higher quality than he knew it to be, a bad equilibrium.
To prevent such cheating, the Sericultural Association of Omama was established in the
Town of Omama in 1900, and the Sericultural Association of Maebashi was established
for the City of Maebashi in 1903.21 In the Omama market, for instance, any raw silk
17

Yamada County, Gunma Prefecture, “Yamada Gun rinji noji shocasho [Special report on agriculture of
Yamada County] (compiled in Gunma Kenshi Hensan Iinkai [Editorial committee of the history of Gunma Prefecture], Gunma kenshi , Shiryohen 18 [History of Gunma Prefecture, Historical Documents 18], Maebashi,
Gunma Prefecture, 1978], p. 853.
18
Yasuzo Kawamoto, Shinshichi Miura, and Kenzaburo Ando, Meiji 33 nen kaki shugaku ryoko Ryomochiho hataorigyo chosa hokokusho [Research report of the 1900 summer field work on the Weaving industryof Gunma Prefecture and Tochigi Prefecture], Tokyo, Koto Shogyo Gakko [Commercial College], 1901 (compiled in Masato Fujiwara, ed., Meiji zenki sangyo hattatsu shi shiryo bessatsu, 50-IV, [Historical documents ofindustrial development in the early Meiji, special volume, 50-IV], 1969), p. 223.
19
“Hiraito” is silk yarn flatly thrown from hand-reeled raw silk threads.
20
Kawamura (198), p. 61. Ryomo chiho hataorigyo chosa hokokusho, p. 224. Gunmaken sanshogyo chosakai[Research committee for sericultural industry, Gunma Prefecture], Gunmaken orimono genkyo chosasho [Reporton the current situation of the weaving industry of Gunma Prefecture], Maebashi, the third department of Gunma
Prefecture, 1906 (compiled in Meiji zenki sangyo hattatsushi shiryo, bessatsu, 49-II, III, 1969), pp. 218-219.
Omama Sanshi Dogyo Kumiai [The Sericultural of Omama], Meiji 34 nendo Omama Sanshi Dogyo Kumiai
hokokusho [Annual report of the Sericultural Association of Omama, 1901], Omama, Omama Dogyo Kumiai,
1902, p. 4.
21
Maebashi Kenshi Dogyo Kumiai [The Sericultural Association of Maebashi], Maebashi Nenshi Dogyo Kumiai [The Throwing Association of Maebashi], eds., Maebashi kenshi dogyo kumiai, Maebashi nenshi dogyo
kumiai, enkakushi [History of the Sericultural Association of Maebashi and the Throwing Association of Maebashi], 1915 (compiled in Meiji zenki sangyo hattatsushi shiryo, bessatsu, 52-IV, 1969), p. 32. Omama Sanshi

6supplied to the market had to include the stamp that specified the producer and was randomly inspected by agents of the Association. If inspection discovered an impropriety,the cheater faced punishment by the Association. 22 Yarn-dyed fabrics were woven by ordinary hand-reeled raw silk, not by the special “Hiraito.” Hence the increased productionof yarn-dyed fabrics in the 1900s under the putting-out system was also supported by thisgovernance of trades in the regional market for raw silk.

3 The putting-out system in the development of the
Kiryu silk fabric industry
3.1 Diversified demands in the market
A list of famous silk fabrics of Kiryu written by Yasuhei Sawa, a middleman in Kiryu,
in 1873, gives an overview of the traditional products of Kiryu in the 1870s, right before synthetic dyes were introduced from Western countries (Table 1). The line of products varies from the traditional luxury dyed-after-weaving fabrics that includes Ryumon[patterned fine gauze], Sa Aya [gauze], and Chirimen [crepe], to the yarn-dyed [dyedbefore-weaving] fabrics that had developed since the mid 19th century, and the fabrics
mixedly woven of silk and cotton. The luxury dyed-after-weaving fabrics were woven of“Hiraito” produced in the Village of Omama, Yamada County, while the other yarn-dyed
fabrics and the mixedly woven fabrics were woven of ordinary hand-reeled raw silk andcotton yarn. As well as the specialties of Kiryu, some weavers copied specialties thatoriginated from other weaving districts such as Nishijin of Kyoto Prefecture, Yonezawa
of Yamagata Prefecture, Chichibu of Saitama Prefecture, and Hachioji of Kanagawa Prefecture. This broad list of products suggests that Kiryu manufacturers had begun efforts
to diversify their product.
Thirty years later, after 1900, the production of the yarn-dyed fabrics such as Kaiki[lustrine], Shusu [satin], and Shuchin [satin], and the Habutae [plainly woven] increased
to a large portion, although the amount of each item greatly changed every year (Tables
2, 3, 4). The destination of the luxury dyed-after-weaving fabrics such as Ro [fine gauze,leno] was mainly Kyoto, while the yarn-dyed fabrics such as Shusu and Shuchin were destined for huge cities like Osaka and Tokyo. The yarn-dyed products contained fabrics thatwere lower quality compared with the dyed-after-weaving fabrics, but the “high-quality”
Shusu was destined to Tokyo, which suggests that the yarn-dyed fabrics demanded inhuge cities were not exclusively coarse products.23
Dogyo Kumiai, Omama Sanshi Dogyo Kumiai teikan [The articles of the Sericultural Association of Omama],
Omama Sanshi Dogyo Kumiai, 1900.
22
Meiji 34 nendo Omama Sanshi Dogyo Kumiai hokokusho, p. 3.
23
Out of the total sales of Kiryu in 1886, 55 percent was destined to Tokyo, 17 percent to Osaka, 12 percent
to Kyoto, and 4 percent to Nagoya of Aichi Prefecture. Kiryu orimonoshi, chukan [History of the Kiryu weaving,
vol. 2], 1938, pp. 553-554. Bout in 1900, “The biggest one of domestic destinations ... is Kyoto-Osaka area,
followed by Tokyo. Out of the total domestic sales, 70 percent is to Kyoto-Osaka area and Nagoya, and 30
percent was to Tokyo, ..., the many Obi Ji [fabrics for broad sashes for kimonos], Han Eri Ji [for decorative
collars], Shusu were destined to Osaka, mainly Ro and Chirimen to Kyoto, and Shusu, Shchin and other highquality fabrics were to Tokyo,” Ryomo chiho kigho chosa hokokusho, p. 222.

7

Generally in huge cities, especially in the Tokyo metropolitan region, mass consumers
came to demand higher-quality fabrics after the 1890s, and, responding to this trend, themore diversified fashions composed of various materials, textures (combinations of warp
and weft), and dyes came to be supplied by weaving districts.24 Kiryu responded to thischange in demand in Osaka and Tokyo by producing more yarn-dyed fabrics such as
Shusu.

3.2 The technique of dying and the diversified products
The availability and use of power looms is also important to understand the diversificationof products. Historians of the fabric industry have devoted most attention to this matter.
Among them, Minami et al. (1982) looked at the hypothesis that power looms were hard
to apply to weaving the yarn-dyed fabrics such as patterned cloths, striped cloths, andbroad sashes, and documented that this accounted for a reason why power looms had notbeen introduced into Kiryu in the early period.25 An implication of their impressive result
is that technologies for variety of products other than mechanization must be consideredsince power looms were not suitable to the yarn-dyed fabrics common in Kiryu. Indeed
Tamura (2004) pointed out that the synthetic dying, not the power loom, was criticallyimportant to realize the variety of fabrics in the traditional weaving industry.26 If thetechnologies for variety of products gave more profits than those for cheaper products, it
was just natural that they took the former.
Table 5 shows the number of articles related to technique and technology of the fabricindustry on Kiryu no Kogyo [The Fabric Industry of Kiryu]27 from 1900-1903. The tablemakes apparent that the articles related to designs which include dying, designing, andtexture dominated. Dying technique was for various colors, designing was for the varietyof patterns and colors, and texture was for the diversified and complicated combinationof warp and weft that resulted in different looking of the surface of cloths. This fact mentions that manufacturers in Kiryu were greatly interested in techniques and technology forthe variety of fabrics among the modern techniques and technologies in the early 1900s.
Exactly at that time, dying in Japanese fabric industry had almost finished transition fromnatural dyes to synthetic dyes such as alizarin and aniline,28 and various techniques ofdying were tried for the variety of designs using these synthetic dyes.
Moreover, the Commercial and Industrial Association of Kiryu [Kiryu Sho Ko Dogyo
Kumiai] wanted to have an institute of research and education especially for dying, andin response established the Textile School of the Town of Kiryu [Kiryu cho ritsu Kiryu
Orimono Gakko], a school for apprentices. This school was modified to a school classified as a secondary school, was renamed the Kiryu Textile School of Gunma [Gunma ken
Kiryu Orimono Gakko] in 1900, and was reorganized the Kiryu Textile School of Gunma
Prefecture [Gunma ken ritsu Kiryu Orimono Gakko], funded by Gunma Prefecture. The
school was integrated with the Isezaki Dying and Weaving School of Gunma Prefecture
24

Tamura (2004), pp. 177-210.
Minami et al. (1982), pp. 338-345. Makino (1984), pp. 41-43.
26
Tamura (2004), pp. 133-175.
27
Issued by Kiryusha, an industrial body established by weaving and dying manufacturers in 1898.
28
Gunma ken orimono genkyo chosasho, p. 130.
25

8

[Gunma ken ritstu Isezaki Sen Shoku Gakko] and to the Textile School of Gunma Prefecture [Gunma ken ritsu Orimono Gakko] in 1905.29 The Textile School surveyed design
samples and dying methods in Western countries and systematically taught them. It alsoaffiliated a Special Program [Bekka] for craftsmen for dying and weaving that supported
their study.30 In addition, the top pages of each issue of Kiryu no Kogyo were occupied
by a few samples of synthetic dying tried by instructors and students of the school, with
explanations on how to emulate the dye procedure.
The samples on the top pages had a model. The Industrial Association of Kiryu,[Kiryu Bussan Dogyo Kumiai] succeeded by the Textile Association of Kiryu [Kiryu Orimono Dogyo Kumiai] subscribed to American and English textile journals since 1898,31
and Kiryu no Kogyo had contents similar to those of Textile Colorist, Philadelphia, a center of the modern textile industry that pursued the variety of products, targeting the massconsumption in the industrial society32 . Diversified designs in the 1900s were not accidents in the traditional industry, but the results of concerted efforts to introduce modern
synthetic dying from the Western world.
The diversity of yarn-dyed fabrics produced by the new technologies and techniquesof dying and designing also led to rapid changes in production organizations. While mostweaving manufacturers dyed their product within their workshops in 1900, it was foundthat in 1904 that subcontracting independent dyers dominated.33 Instead of replacing theputting-out system, manufacturers consistently expanded this system in Kiryu — subcontracting both for dyers and weavers.

3.3 Development of the putting-out system
In Yamada County, of which a large portion is the Town of Kiryu, the number of powerlooms actually decreased in the early 1910s (Table 6b), a stark contrast to the trend of
the whole Gunma Prefecture.34 Another impressive feature of Yamada County is that the
number of putting-out manufacturers dropped a half from 1905 to 1912 while the numberof subcontracting weavers increased during the same time, so that the number of subcontracting weavers per putting-out manufacturer tripled (Tables 6a, 6b). This expansion of
the putting-out sector was accompanied by increased production of diversified yarn-dyed
29

Gunma ken ritsu Orimono Gakko, Gunma kenritsu Orimonog Gakko ichiran [Guidebook of the Textile
School of Gunma Prefecture], Kiryu, Gunma Kenritsu Orimono Gakko, 1910, pp. 2-3. Kiryu orimono shi, gekan[History of the Kiryu weaving, vol. 3], 1940, pp. 135-157.
30
Gunma ken orimono genkyo chosasho, p. 130.
31
They are now held by the department of engineering library, Gunma University, which succeeded the Textile
School.
32
Scranton (1983, 1989).
33
In 1900: “Dying is conducted by the special method of each weaving manufacturer so that there is not an
independent dyer.” Ryomo chiho hataorigyo chosa hokokusho, p. 228. In 1904: Putting-out [of dying] was notconducted in Kiryu before, but these days the weaving industry has become much more complicated comparedwith that in old days, hence each weaving manufacturer cannot afford to worry about dying, and improvement
in dying has become necessary, therefore independent specialized dyers have emerged.” Gunma ken orimono
genkyo chosasho, p. 88. There were 7 independent dyers, 4 of whom owned boilers for heating (Gunma ken
orimono genkyo chosasho, pp. 88-89.
34
In whole Gunma Prefecture, the number of factories equipped with power looms steadily increased throughthe 1900s to the early 1910s. Nakabayashi (2003a), pp.39-41, Tables 1-9 (a), 1-10 (a).

9fabrics for the mass consumption in huge cities. The expanding putting-out was thus neither a relic of the Tokugawa period nor associated with the growth from the Tokugawa
period. It was instead a new phenomenon in the early 20th century stimulated by massconsumption, and realized with the progress of synthetic dying to diversify the product,
not with the use of power looms.35

4 Efficiency of the putting-out system and benefit of
agglomeration
4.1 The putting-out system in the Kiryu silk fabric industry
The weaving manufacturer [Motobataya] bought material yarn, and either contracted withindependent producers to weave the yarn or weaved it in its workshop. There were twokinds of subcontractors: those who just subcontracted weaving [Chinbataya], and those
who also shared in the profit from the sales of the clothes which they wove [Shitabataya].
Subcontracting was not restricted to only weavers — there were also craftsmen/women
who subcontracted designing (making patterns), preparing looms, throwing, cleaning,and dying. Spatially, manufacturers concentrated in the Town of Kiryu, while craftsmen/women were both in Kiryu and the neighborhood.36 Clearly, weaving remained themain subcontracted task.
In 1900, the subcontracting weavers who did not receive a share of the profits [Chinbataya] as well as weavers who shared the profits [Chinbataya] usually wove on loomsthat they owned, using reeds and heddles they leased from their contracted manufacturer.
These subcontracting weavers mainly worked on yarn-dyed fabrics such as Shusu (satin)
and Kaiki (Lustrine).37
35“In the Tenpo period [1833-1843], ..., the production of luxury patterned fabrics prospered, thus any weaving manufacturer took the factory system for weaving and put out just a little production to subcontractors, ...,
however, as ordinary cloths such as Chirimen[crepe] mixedly woven silk and cotton and Men Nanbu became
more and more popular since then, the products by the factory system became those of the ruralized industry, andthe number of subcontracting weavers increased, and moreover, in the early 1880s, exactly when common cloths
for Obi [broad sashes] such as Men Shusu (cotton satin) came in, the regional textile industry experienced a bigchange; the demand for the traditional luxury fabrics decreased and the supply of common products got more
and more pleased in the market from day to day, therefore the manufacturers even more and more subcontracting
weavers.” Gunma ken Naimu bu [Department of Interior, Gunma Prefecutre], Gunma ken orimonogyo enkaku
chosasho [History and overview of the weaving industry in Gunma Prefecture], Maebashi, Gunma ken Naimu
bu, 1904 (compiled in Meiji zenki sangyo hattatsushi shiryo bessatsu 48-III, 1969), p. 60.
36“Subcontractors includes those of designing (also conducting making patterns), of preparing looms, ofweaving, of throwing, and so on. Among them, contracting weavers and throwsters prosper very well, so any
small street in Kiryu, you hear the sounds of shuttles. Also, in Nanbu Shinjuku of Kiryu, there are uncountable
throwing houses equipped with water wheels along a ditch. As well as them, seen is that ever house with athatched roof in the neighboring villages has a loom so that weaving is conduced.” Ryomo chiho hataorigyo
chosa hokokusho, p. 225. In Kiryu, there were 4,977 subcontractors in 1904, which included 13 designers, 65
loom preparers, 218 throwsters, 17 dyers, 4,560 weavers, 14 cleaners. Gunma ken orimono genkyo chosasho, p.
218.
37
Large portion of subcontracted weaving is that of Shusu, and that of Kobai Kaiki and Mon Habutae (Plainly
patterned) is also subcontracetd. ..., generally, weaving of fabrics that do not need power looms is subcontracted,

10The putting-out system began to disperse in the mid 19th century, when yarn-dyed
fabrics came to be produced, and after the 1880s, manufacturers rapidly extended theputting-out system in substitution of in-house production (the factory system). As seen
above, this shift was especially rapid in the late 1900s, because synthetic dying broadened the variety of yarn-dyed fabrics, and their production could therefore be contracted
out efficiently. The putting-out system of Kiryu in the 1900s consisted of small workshops where one of the following tasks was performed: weaving, designing of patterns,
throwing, preparing, dying, and cleaning, which were networked by subcontracting.

4.2 Relationship between manufacturers and subcontracting
weavers
Two benefits of the putting-out system for the manufacturer have been identified previously: namely that the manufacturer can shift the risk of fluctuating market demand to
the subcontractor, and that the manufacturer can utilize cheap slack labors in a peasantfamily by subcontracting. However, although these sound reasonable, if they are true theyshould hold regardless of the specific historical conditions of a region. These benefits
therefore can not explain why the putting-out system of Kiryu rapidly expanded in the
1900s, nor why expensive yarn-dyed fabrics as well as cheap ones were subcontracted
after 1900. Contrastingly, there were also costs of the putting-out system. Opportunistic behaviors of subcontractors — such as embezzlement of material yarn or productionof lower than contracted quality — were costs to the manufacturers and discouraged theuse of subcontracting by them.38 Indeed some manufacturers in Kiryu complained aboutsubcontractors’ opportunistic behaviors as “dishonest” trades. Against those “dishonest” trades, the Textile Association of Kiryu [Kiryu Orimono Dogyo Kumiai] reached
an agreement to collectively punish “dishonest” subcontractors, although the cooperation
among the manufacturers did not really work.39
Given that manufacturers expanded the putting-out system rather than the factory system in Kiryu, these manufacturers must have somehow mitigated the problem of “dishonest” trades, allowing them to profitably take advantage of the putting-out system. It
is important for our inquiry to understand the real relationship between manufacturers
and subcontractors, going beyond the comments of some manufacturers in the media andofficial reports.
To tackle the “dishonest” trades problem, Kiryu no Kogyo [The Industry of Kiryu]
had kept the “column of subcontractors” that described the name of each subcontractor,
the name of manufacturer with whom the subcontractor traded, and the evaluation of thesubcontractor by the manufacturer, on every issue since 1903 (Appendix). As shown fromthose descriptions, a considerable share of manufacturers had a few subcontractors withwhom they had conducted business for more than 10, or even 30 years. Moreover, somemanufacturers had special subcontracting weavers who specialized in Shusu (satin), Kaikiand only reeds and heddles are leased to subcontractors, to make them weave by their own looms. ..., Some timelooms are leased. As usually seen in other textile regions, prepared warp with weft is handed.” Ryomo chiho
hataorigyo chosa hokokusho, p. 225.
38
Landes (1986). Saito and Abe (1987).
39
Gunmaken orimonogyo enkaku chosasho, p. 61. Kiryu orimonoshi, vol. 3, 477.

11

(Lustrine), Moroito Ori, or other kinds of fabrics for a long time, and these manufacturers
asked their special subcontractors to weave product when they needed special products
for the “exhibitions” and “fairs,” or when they wanted to have the “best quality” silk woven. In addition, some subcontractors kept long histories of transactions, passing them onto their children, who also were weavers. An important point to observe is that manufacturers who had kept a long history of good relations with special subcontractors also had
good relations with new subcontractors.
A continuous relationship between the manufacturer and the subcontractor can be
sufficient to avoid “dishonest” trades even when monitoring is imperfect. For this tooccur, their relationship must be repeated and long lasting, both parties must want tomaximize profits and must care about receiving these profits for the long-term. If these
conditions hold, it is possible that the loss of the gains from the relationship deters thesubcontractor from “dishonest” trade.40 If the manufacturer pursues the one-shot profit
by opportunistically exploiting the subcontractor, or if the subcontractor pursues the oneshot profit by opportunistically cheating the manufacturer, each would lose the long-termlarger benefit that would obtain if trade were honest. This fact gives both sides a strong
incentive to keep mutual prosperity.41 Therefore, there did not exist any problem between
the competitive manufacturers who produced high-quality yarn-dyed fabrics and theircore subcontractors, as their relationship was long lived. The “dishonest” trades seem tohave happened to the manufacturers who avoided long-term trades with subcontractors
and did not or could not pay sufficient weaving fees to subcontractors.42 Complaints
about “dishonest” trades from some manufacturers were actually death cries of losing
manufacturers.
Related to this point, Matsumura (2002) clarified that the manufacturers failed to collectively act to deter “dishonest” trades by subcontractors. As Matsumura (2002) mentions, the deterrence of “dishonest” trades was possible only by the continuous relation
between the competitive manufacturers who successfully developed new products andtheir subcontractors. In other words, the collective governance of trades among the manufacturers was not effective, while the individualist governance of trades was dominant,which explains the exit of less efficient manufacturers in the early 1900s.
Another point is that many of the core subcontractors of large manufacturers weremale, or couples, suggesting that they were specialized full-time weavers, not part-time
weavers. Some of them were sufficiently specialized as to own 3-4 looms. The shift fromthe part-time weaving to the full-time weaving continued into the 1910s.43
40Fringe benefits in kind are sometimes called “embezzlement” trades, but this naming is misleading. As longas the manufacturer observes the benefit, it is neither opportunistic nor a “dishonest” trade. In many situations,the manufacturers seem to be able to infer if the manufacturers are “honest” of “dishonest.” In those situations,“embezzlement” actually does not happen. Although many works such as Landes (1986) have pointed out“embezzlement” in the putting-out system, it is not clear if this was a serious issue.
41
Under these conditions, conducting “honest” trades could be a subgame perfect equilibrium (s stronger
concept of Nash equilibrium).
42
Gunma ken orimonogyo enkaku chosasho, p. 64. Ryomo chiho hataorigyo chosa hokokusho, pp. 226-227.
43
In Kiryu, the subcontracting weavers who have been a part-time weavers are changing to full-time weavers
because the income from weaving is increasing by the prosperity of the weaving industry, so that the area where
subcontracting weavers live is expanding to whole Yamada County, Nitta County, ..., Sawa County, ..., Tochigi
Prefecture, and to Saitama Prefecture.” Tokyo Zeimu Kantokukyoku [The Tax Office of Tokyo], Orimono seisan

12Therefore, core subcontractors were not “dishonest” or part-time subcontractors, as
has been assumed in the literature. The competitive manufacturers had long-term relations that were more than 10 years with many full-time subcontractors, each of whom
specialized in weaving a few kinds of fabrics. The number of subcontractors per manufacturers was about 20 (Tables 6a, 6b), and generally each subcontractor had transactions
with only a few manufacturers — hence an average manufacturer is thought to have organized a few dozen subcontracting weavers. The putting-out system in Kiryu was thus
based on a long-term relationship between a core of full-time specialized weavers and a
few manufacturers.

4.3 Flexibility of production and efficiency of agglomeration
Then what were the benefits of the putting-out system for competitive manufacturers? A
benefit of the putting-out system was in that “it is not necessary to newly train weavers
when the kinds of fabrics are changed,” — a flexibility in the kinds of fabrics, as well
as a flexibility in the scale of business.44 Flexibility seems to have been important tocompetitive manufacturers.
As shown on Table 4, the fluctuations in production of each fabric were considerablylarge, and the designs of each fabric changed often due to changing fashions. Under sucha situation, it was not economical for a manufacturer to train and maintain all skilled
weavers within his factory. On the other hand, each weaver specialized in some kindsof fabrics (Appendix).45 Thus, a manufacturer could realize a varied lineup of fabrics atlower cost by organizing several subcontracting weavers skilled in a few specialties andmaintaining them by means of a long-term relationship. Also, subcontracting weavers
can reduce the risk associated with fluctuating demand by planning production with eachmanufacturer and keeping relations with a few manufacturers, not with only one manufacturer. Indeed in Kiryu, subcontracting was generally not exclusive so that each subcontractor was allowed to enter in contracts with other manufacturers. This type of contract
was preferred also by manufacturers because “changes” in the fashion were considerable
in the industry.46
The designs of fabrics are determined by the combination of dying material yarn,
throwing, designing, texture, finishing, and so on. If the extension of the putting-out in
1900s meant the development of the production organization that realized flexible diversification of fabrics, the putting-out system should be seen in each of throwing, designing,
and finishing. Kameda (2000) and Hashino (2005) find facts consistent with this inference. Sadakichi Goto, the manufacturer they studied, had produced Obi (broad sashes)
until the end of the 1890s. In the 1900s, however, this manufacturer diminished the production of Obi, and increased the production of cloths for kimonos, for which the weaving
was put in the charge of subcontractors. Moreover, he extended subcontracting transacoyobi torihiki chosa [Survey of the production and transaction of fabrics], 1920 (compiled in Meiji zenki sangyo
hattatsushi shiryo bessatsu 53-IV, p. 134.
44
Gunmaken orimonogyo enkaku chosasho, p. 61. Kiryu orimonoshi, vol. 3, p. 477.
45
“Each weaver is specialized in a specific kind of fabric by special skill,” Ryomo chiho hataorigyo chosahokokusho, p. 228.
46
Gunma ken orimono enkaku chosasho, pp. 64-72.

13

tions with throwsters, cleaners, and dyers. He also conducted many trades with them ina year, each of on a small scale. These transactions suggest that he chose the putting-out
system for a flexibility and variety of fabrics, instead of the factory system.47 After WorldWar I, when the product market, the labor market, and the production technology all had
drastically changed, Goto went back to the factory system, and introduced power looms
into his factory.48
From 1880 to the 1900s, when production of the yarn-dyed fabrics developed, manufacturers catered to new demands by offering new designs, and flexibly responded to the
fashion in the market. A flexible production organization is desirable under these market
conditions. The putting-out system at that time was such an organization: it provided geographically concentrated specialized subcontractors with long-term relations with manufacturers who could be contracted based on changing market demands. Skilled full-time
craftsmen/women were preferred as core subcontractors to cheap part-time workers bycompetitive manufacturers there. Further, as manufacturers had to adjust to fluctuations
in fashion, the benefit of in-house specialized workers and production became smaller, regardless whether their products were high or low-quality. Thus, manufacturers who werecompetitive diminished the production in their factories, and organized weavers skilled in
specific fabrics as subcontractors. Under competitive pressures (mainly for variety), themanufactures who could not offer novelties exited, and skilled weavers concentrated withthe competitive manufacturers. Therefore, the putting-out system worked to exploit thebenefits of agglomeration from flexibly organizing each process of the silk fabric industry.
Until the 1910s, power looms could not be used in the weaving of yarn-dyed fabrics with varied designs due to their technological limitations. Given this technologicalconstraint, the putting-out system was chosen as it was the least expensive production
organization given the combination of weaving by hand looms and dying using syntheticdyes. The putting-out system was advantageous in Kiryu because of the concentration ofskilled workers and the “flexibility of production” by the “flexible specialization”49
During the Tokugawa Period, consumers of Ro [fine gauze, leno] — the representative
luxury fabric of Kiryu — were not the general public. Not until the late 19th century whenyarn-synthetically-dyed fabrics with varied designs were offered at reasonable prices did
the mass consumption of silk fabrics occur. While the rich bought the luxury Ro fromlong-established boutiques, the new consumers bought articles which matched the fashionand their taste in general department stores. In this transition and expansion, the puttingout system is thought to have efficiently adjusted to the style of consumption.
Keeping this point in mind, we should mention the implication of the “flexibility” of
Kiryu in the early 20th century was a little different from that of Lyons in the middle 19th
century.50 The efficiency realized in Lyons was that for haute couture that was consumed
by the very rich sensitive to the mode in Paris. The consumers of Kiryu fabrics in the
1890s to the 1900s were the upper part of the mass in huge cities.51 The modernizationof dying and designing with the putting-out system allowed lower prices of the yarn-dyed
47

Kameda (2000), pp. 44-45. Nakabayashi (2003a), pp. 48-49, Tables 1-11, 1-12.
Hashino (2005).
49
Piore and Sable (1984).
50
Cottereau (1997).
51
Tamura (2004).
48

14

fabrics, which created the mass consumption.

5 Concluding remarks
The technological progress in Kiryu existed in synthetic dying and systematic designing from the 1890s to the 1900s. Neither the large factory system nor the putting-out
system consisting of organized unskilled part-time weavers was desirable there. Manufacturers organized weavers skilled in some specialties as core subcontractors, and tradedwith skilled dyers and skilled throwsters who were desirable for the designs targeted. The
putting-out system that flexibly organized skilled craftsmen/women in long-term relationships was chosen for the yarn-dyed fabrics given the technology of synthetic dying. In
addition, the regional market around Kiryu of material yarn was well-organized, which
supported the weaving and dying processes. The production system optimally organizedfrom the upstream to the downstream, enabling the industry to grow with the new demand
from the emerging masses in big cities such as Tokyo.
However, the mass consumption of fabrics that producers in Kiryu responded to was
not a specific phenomenon of Japan, nor was the benefit of agglomeration in Japan andEurope. For instance, in the 1900s, the fabric industry in New York and New Jersey
created the demand of mass consumption by offering varied goods. A considerable partof the production was conducted by the putting-out system that organized women andchildren of families in the City —called tenement homework.52 The manufacturing industries in the 20th century industrial societies pursued the same goal, namely, the flexible
supply of varied products for mass consumption. The paths to the goal, however, werevaried among industries in respective societies. The comparative analysis of them in the
micro-level is left as an exciting research agenda.

52

Hindman (2002), pp. 187-212.

15

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Saito, Osamu, “Zairai orimonogyo ni okeru kojosei kogyoka no sho yoin [Factors affecting the transition to factory: the case of weaving in prewar Japan],” Shakai Keizai
Shigaku [Socio-Economic History], February 1984, 49 (6), 670–687.
and Takeshi Abe, “Chinbata kara rikishokuki kojo he: meiji koki ni okeru
men orimonogyo no baai [From subcontracting weavers to factory equipped withpower looms: a case of cotton weaving industry from 1900s to 1910s],” in Yukihiko Kiyokawa Ryoshin Minami, ed., Nihon no kogyouka to gijutsu hatten [Industrialization and technological progress in Japan], Toyo Keizai Shinposha, Tokyo,
1987, pp. 64–82.
Scranton, Philip, Proprietary capitalism: the textile manufacture at Philadelphia, 1800
-1885, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
, Figured tapestry: production, markets, and power in Philadelphia textiles, 18851941, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
Tamura, Hitoshi, Fashion no shakai keizaishi: zairai orimonogyo no gijutsu kakushin toryuko shijo [A social economic history of the fashion: innovations in the traditional
weaving industry and the market of modes], Tokyo: Nihon Keizai Hyoronsha, 2004.
Tanimoto, Masayuki, Nihon ni okeru zairaiteki keizai hatten to orimonogyo: shijo keisei
to kazoku keizai [The traditional path of economic development and the fabric industry in Japan: the formation of market and the family economy], Nagoya: Nagoya
University Press, 1998.
and Takeshi Abe, “Kigyo bokko to kindai keiei, zairai keiei [The beginning of industrialization and modern management/ traditional management),” in Takeshi Abe
Matao Miyamoto, ed., Nihon keieishi 2: keiei kakushin to kogyoka [Japanese business history 2: innovation in management and industrialization], Iwanami Shoten,
Tokyo, 1995, pp. 89–138.
Tsujimoto, Yoshio, Nihon no zairaikogyo: sono chiikiteki kenkyu [The traditional industries of Japan: a geographical study], Tokyo: Daimeido, 1978.

19

Williamson, Oliver E., The economic institutions of capitalism: firms, markets, relational contracting, New York: Free Press, 1985.

20

Kinds of material

Kiryu
Nishijin

Kiryu
Kryu
Nishijin/
Ueda/ Kiryu/

After
After
After
After
After
After

Raw silk/
Cotton yarn
Raw silk
Raw silk
Hiraito of
Omama
Hiraito of
Omama
Hiraito ofOmama

Raw silk

Silk
Silk
Silk

For hanging scrolls and screens.
Woven of spun silk yarn.

Crepe woven of raw silk warp and thrown silk weft.

After

After
After

Kiryu

Nishijin/ Kiryu Nishijin

Kiryu/ Nishijin
Nishijin/ Kiryu

Kiryu

Shike Ginu
Funsen Kinu Tsumugi
Hon-yori Shima
Chirimen (Omeshi
Chirimen)

Silk

Kiryu
After

ditto.

Kiryu

Kiryu

Shioze Ryumon

Silk

After

Satin produced in Kiryu for a long time.
Silk
Twilled and patterned satin.
Silk
Twilled gauze patterned with parallelograms.
Silk
Twilled gauze patterned small marks.
Silk
Gauze woven of 6 or 8 weft with one warp. Woven of the fist
Silkclass Hiraito .

Rinzu
Aya Shibo
Higaki Sa Aya
Mon Sa Aya

Hiro Ryumon

After

Twilled gauze patterned with small gammadion.

Kameaya Ryumon

Kiryu

Nishijin/ Kiryu
Kiryu
Kiryu
Kiryu
Kiryu
Kiryu
Kiryu

Kiryu

After

Hiraito of
Omama
Hiraito ofOmama
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk
Hiraito of
Omama
Hiraito ofOmama
Raw silk
Raw silk

Gauze loosly woven of the first class Hiraito , used forsummer coats.

Sha

Kiryu

After
After
After
After

Kiryu

After

Raw silk

Satin woven of the warp and the weft of the first class raw silk.Silk
Silk

Gifu
Kiryu/ Nishijin Kiryu

Kiryu
Gifu/ Kiryu

Tango/ Kiryu Tango

Kiryu

After

Hiraito of
Omama
Kiryu

After

Rinzu

Silk

Originarea

Nishijin/ Kiryu Nishijin

Productionarea

Raw silk

Kinds ofTo be dyedmaterial yarn before/after weaving

Twilled satin patterned with gammadion.

Woven of the warp and weft of the first class raw silk, "forSilk
formal kimonos." A first class fabric.
A patterned fabric woven of the warp and weft of the firstclass Hiraito (flat-thrown silk thread) produced at Omama. A Silk
first class fabric.
Silk/ Mixture of
Crepe woven of the silk warp and the silk or cotton weft.
silk and cotton
Crepe.
Silk
Crepe, good for kimonos for women.
Silk
Fine gauze (leno) loosly woven of the Hiraito warp and theHiraito weft. For luxury kimonos. Mon Ro. Kasumi Ro.
Silk
The special fabric of Kiryu.
Twilled gauze patterned with gammadion. Woven of Hraito
Silkof Omama.

FeatureRinzu Sa Aya

Sa AyaKi Ro

Joshu Chirimen
Kabechiyoro Chirimen

Tango Chirimen

RyumonHabutaeTable 1 Main fabrics produced in Kiryu, 1873.
Kind of fabricPlain or patterned satin.
Patterened satin damask woven of 5 threads of warp par one
thread of weft.

Shusu

Ko Donsu

Striped taffeta for broad sashes, woven as Ryu Haku Jima,
with organzine threads of warp. Patterned.

Kohaku Jima Obi Ji

Kohaku Jima

Kara Kohaku Jima
Tango Jima

Cha Maru

Cha U (Ryu Jo)

Shokan Hira

Raw silk
Raw silk

Silk

Raw silk

Silk

Silk

Luxury fabric woven of cleaned silk warp and half-degummed
Silk
Raw silk
silk weft.
Mixture of cotton
Cotton/ Linen
Woven of cotton warp and linen weft.
and linen
The most tightly woven of first class fine silk warp andSilk
Raw silk
degummed silk weft.
Woven of a little thiner (than Cha U ) warp and degummed
Silk
Raw silk
and colored weft.
Striped taffeta woven of a little thick weft. Patterned with wickSilk
Raw silk
Woven of middle-class degummed silk.
Silk
Raw silk
Striped taffeta woven of high-class silk threads. Woven of 8,
6, or 4 threads of warp par one thread of weft. A weft thread
Silk
Raw silk
is composed of a few thin threads of raw silk. Plain, striped,
or patterned.

BeforeRaw silk/
CottonRaw Silk/
HiraitoRaw silk/
Dupion silk/
Noshi silk

Ryumon Hira

Silk

BeforeTube-thrownsilk

Woven of silk or dupion (spun) silk warp and dupion silk or
noshi (spun) silk. A good fabric.

BeforeSilk/ Tubethrown silk

Before/ After

BeforeNishijin/ Kiryu

Chikuzen/
Nishijin/
Kiryu/
Hachioji/
Yonezawa/
Nishijin/ Kiryu

Nishijin/ Kiryu

Nishijin/ Kiryu

BeforeBeforeNishijin/ Kiryu

After

Nishijin/ Kiryu
Nishijin/ Kiryu

Tokyo/
Hachioji/
BeforeBeforeBeforeKiryu

Before

Kiryu

Kiryu

Kiryu

Kiryu

Kiryu/Ashikaga/ Kawagoe
Yonezawa/
Yonezawa
Kiryu
Yonezawa/
Kiryu/
Yonezawa
Hachioji

Kiruy

Kiryu

Kiryu/
Ashikaga

After

After

After

After

Raw silk

Fushi Ito Ori

Crepe woven of imported (machine thrown) cotton yarn warp
Higashi Shima Chirimen
and silk weft. Recently the fashion in West Japan, so that
Silk
(Dasso Chirimen)
many weavers prduce it.
Gauze woven of four threads of warp with one tube-thrown
Kabe Chiyo Ro Jima
thread of weft. There many kinds of plan, patterned, etc. as Silk
well as striped ("Shima," "Jima").
Gauze (leno) woven of tube-thrown and single-colored warp
Kabe Roand weft. There striped and plain-clored. For summer coats Silk
and other luxury cloths.
Gauze (leno) woven of silk warp and cotton weft, or cotton
Silk/ Cotton
Men Rowarp and cotton weft.
Woven of silk organzine warp and Hiraito weft, unstarched.
Silk
Hon Ito Ori
Luxury fabric with luster.

Very light crepe woven of silk warp and silk or cotton weft.

Shima Chirimen Usu
Haori Ji (Striped crepe
for light coats)Nishijin/
Kiryu/

Nishijin/ Kiryu
Nishijin/ Kiryu
Nishijin/ Kiryu
Nishijin/ Kiryu
Nishijin/ Kiryu

Nishijin/ Kiryu

Kinu Chirimen (Crepe)

Patterned crepe woven of single-thread silk and thick tram.

Silk

Nagahama/
Tango/ Kiryu
Source : Yasuhei Sawa, "Kokunai kaku san sho orimono ito gumi mei shou ryakki" (Conscise note for names and organizations of fabrics in production areas of Japan),
October 1873. Held by the Main Library, University of Tokyo.
Notes : Kiryu belongs to Gunma Prefecture, Nishijin and Tango to Kyoto, Hachioji to Kanagawa (to Tokyo later), Yonezawa to Yamagata, Nagahama to Shiga.
After

Woven of low class organzines. Patterned anc colored.

Kantan Ori

Raw silk

Mixture of silkand cotton

Low class broad sash woven of silk warp and cotton weft.

Mon Ori Kyu sun Obi

Silk/ Mixture ofsilk and cotton

Raw silk
Before/ After
Raw silk
BeforeRaw silk
BeforeSilk/ Gold
BeforeSilk/ Gold yarn Before
Raw silk/
Machinethrown cotton

Silk
Silk
Silk
Silk
Silk

Before/ After

Raw silk

Silk

Patterned satin damask woven of 4 threads of warp par one
thread of weft.
Futae Donsu
Patterned satin damask.
Atsuita
Amber-colored fabric woven of Hiraito .
Hongoku Ori (Yoriito Ori)Amber-colored.
Ito Nishiki
Satin damask patterned by gold or other colored threads.
Yamato Nishiki
Satin damask patterned by gold or other colored threads.

Koyanagi Ji

Table 2 Main fabrics produced in Kiryu, 1904-1905.
Name of fabricKinds of material
Habutae (Plain weave)
Silk
Mon Habutae (Patterned)
Silk
Aya Habutae (Twilled)
Silk
Shike Ori
Silk
Mon Shike Ori
Silk
Ro Ori (Gauze (leno))
Silk
Nanako Ori
SilkChirimen Ori (Crepe)
Silk
Ro Chirimen (Crepe gauze (leno))
Silk
Muffler
Mon Lace (Patterned lace)
Silk
Rinzu Ori (Figured Satin)
Silk
Sa Aya Ji Ori (Twilled gauze)
Silk
Kanko Chirimen Ori (Crepe)
Mixture of silk and cotton
Men Yoko Shusu (Satin with cotton weft)
Mixture of silk and cotton
Neri Orimono (Fabric woven degumed raw silk)
Silk
Ito Ori
Silk
Ichi Raku Ito Ori
Silk
Futsu Ito Ori
Silk
Kohaku Ori (Taffeta)
Silk
Futsu Kohaku Ori (ReversibleLoosely woven taffetaSilk
Omeshi Chirimen (Crepe)
Silk
Futsu Omeshi (Reversible figured crepe)
Silk
Kanko Shusu (Satin)
Mixture of silk and cotton
Atsuita Ori
Silk
Shuchin Obi Ji (Satin for broad sashes)
Silk
Shima Ro (Striped gauze)
Silk
Fushi Ito Ori
Silk
Kabe Ito Ori
SilkDonsu Ura Ji (Satin damask)
Silk
Men Shuchin (Satin woven of silk and cotton)
Mixture of silk and cotton
Yamabuki Ori
Mixture of silk and cotton
Men Men Shusu (Cotton satin)
CottonMen Men Shuchin (Cotton satin)
CottonAya Ito Ori
CottonUsu Kohaku Ori (Taffeta)
Silk
Taffeta
Silk
Mon Taffeta (Patterned taffeta)
Silk
Mon Donsu Ori (Patterned damask)
Silk
Aya Ginu (Twilled silk)
Silk
Kaiki (Lustrine)
Silk
Shusu Sode Ura (Satin)
Silk
Kobai Kaiki (Lustrine)
Mixture of silk and cotton
Krami Ori Ire Kobai Kaiki (Lustrine)
Mixture of silk and cotton
Source : Gunmaken Naimubu (Department of the interior, Gunma
Prefecture), Gunmaken orimonogyo genkyo chosasho (Report on thecurrent situataion of the weaving industry in Gunma prefecture),
Gunmaken Naimubu, 1904, pp. 39-67.

Material yarn
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk/ Dupion silk of Maebashi
Raw silk/ Dupion silk of Maebashi
Hiraito of Omama
Raw silk
Hand reeled raw silk of Omama
Hiraito of Omama
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk/ Cotton yarn
Raw silk/ Cotton yarn
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk/ Cotton yarn
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk
Dupion silk
Dupion silk
Dupion silk
Raw silk/ Cotton yarn
Raw silk/ Cotton yarn
Cotton yarn
Cotton yarn
Cotton yarn
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk
Raw silk/ Cotton yarn
Raw silk/ Cotton yarn

Obi (Broad sashes tied overa kimono)
Mixture of silk
Silk
and cotton
1,000 yard 1,000 pieces 1,000 pieces 1,000 pieces
40
623
52
742
65
921
56
1,787
112
1,067
113
1,578
107
1,564
9,257
87
1,515
4,905
102
1,353
59
686
51
706
26
732
1,188
28
891
28
353
618
67
377
96
988
100
1,383
63
1,153
56
1,392
142
1,429
24
112
1,253

Silk

Mixture of silkand cotton
221,000 yards 1,000kg 1,000 pieces
1,000 m
1,000 m
1892
963
90
1893
2,223
7.61
119
1894
1,679
8.35
156
1895
991
208
1896
826
170
1897
848
174
1898
959
298
1899
566
5,166
109
1900
653
7,125
90
1901
1,479
1,775
1902
1,259
1,172
1903
604
479
1904
205
5,268
49
1905
988
745
1906
1,768
605
1907
1,756
1,248
1908
1,316
5,293
434
1909
2,332
313
414
1910
1,297
0.60
53
709
1911
1,242
2,721
0.50
0
1,004
1912
1,448
3,326
0.73
27
411
Source : Gunma Ken tokeisho (Statistics of Gunma Prefecture).
Notes : Quantity of fabric is shown by "tan" in the source. On this table, "tan" is converted into "m2" by 1 tan = 2.56 m2.
The numbers since 1901 show the production in Yamada County which includes Town of Kiryu, whereas the mostproduction of Yamada County was from Kiryu.

Table 3 Production of fabrics in Town of Kiryu (Yamada County).
Year Peace goods

m2

m2

m2

Habutae(Plain)

1,000
Yards
m2

Kaiki
(Lustrine)

1,000
Yards
m2

m2

m2

m2

Chirimen Hakama
Fushi
Ito Ori(Crepe)Ji
Ito Ori

m2

Shike
Ginu

m2

m2

m2

Rinzu
Shusu
(Figured
Others(Satin)Satin)

1,000
Yards

m2

Total

1,000
Yards

1892
8,522
832
9,354 825,262
20,48038,451
0
5,632
0
0
0
0 63,565
962,7441893 60,178 5,133 65,311 2,059,648
24,55023,0452,196 11,159
476
8,207
0
0 28,751
2,223,345
1894 114,278 8,463 122,742 963,776
321,608
16,7456,920 15,634
676 182,477
5,635
0 42,545
1,678,756
1895 336,586 15,250 351,836 223,598
244,283
49,421
9,935 22,467 1,533 46,886
5,412
0 35,607
990,979
1896 165,453 3,994 169,446 162,458
217,958
36,736 14,464 75,520 12,800 31,130 55,296
0 50,373
826,1811897 133,862 3,968 137,830 178,790
233,728
40,858
8,192 72,960 16,640 29,440 59,392
0 70,272
848,1021898 127,027 3,750 130,778 187,149
312,576
36,014
3,072 90,880 16,128 34,560
00 147,866
959,022
1899 122,138
0 122,138
1,395
3,532
36,014
6,016 132,454 15,040 143,759 28,288
0 82,644
240 566,354 5,166
1900 107,671
0 107,671
3,741
3,384
33,516
5,345 66,017 10,752
01,843 1,597 426,368
0 653,110 7,125
1901 238,520
0 238,520 808,115
83,38931,526 12,928 72,371 13,312
02,125 6,400 209,818
1,478,505
1902 210,755
0 210,755 595,251
91,13623,281
4,124 51,149 14,715
0
4,198 3,750 260,838
1,259,197
Source : Gunma ken tokei sho (Statistics of Gunma Prefecture), Gunma Prefecture.
Notes : Hiraito is a flat-thrown silk thread. "Others" of "Woven of Omama Hiraito " contain Sha (gauze), Ryumon , Kame Aya Ori (patterned with hexagons), andKame Mon Ori (patterned with hexagons). Handkerchieves are not included in this table.

m2

Ro
Others Subtotal(Gauze)abc =a +b

Year Woven of Omama Hiraito

Table 4 Production of silk fabric in Town of Kiryu (Yamada County since 1901): dicomposed to kinds of fabrics.

Table 5 Articles on Kiryu no kogyo (The industry of Kiryu) about technologies and techniques for fabric production, 1900-1903.
Year
SamplesDyeingDesignPreparing
TextureThrowing
Loom
Othersandand
FinishingWeaving
Number of
Number of
Number of
Number of
Number of
Number of
Number ofarticlesarticlesarticlesarticlesarticlesarticlesarticles1900 Dyeing and Texture
17
4
1
2
1
0
1
1901 Dyeing and Texture
17
4
4
1
0
0
7
1902 Dyeing and Texture
33
5
3
3
1
0
1
1903 Dyeing and Texture
19
0
3
0
0
0
0
Total
86
13
11
6
2
0
9
Source : Kiryu no kogyo (The manufacturing of Kiryu) , no. 16-19, 22, 29-58, 61-62, Jan-Apr, July, 1900, Feb-Dec, 1901,
Jan-Dec, 1902, Jan-Jul, Oct-Nov, 1903. Orimono kogyo (The fabric industry) (succeeding Kiryu no kogyo ), no. 63, Dec, 1903.
Notes : "Samples" are a few samples of dyed threads and scraps to show the effects of new synthetic dyes and new patterns of"texture" on the top page of every issue. "Texture" mentions a combination of the warp and the weft to make a specific patternon the surfice of the fabric. "Others" include articles about other techniques and reports about foreign fabric industry.

Table 6a Production organization of the silk fabrci industry in Yamada County, Gunma Prefecture.
Year
Number of
Number of
Total Number
Number of operatives
Independent
Weaving housesof looms
Weaving operatives Supporting operatives
Weaving houses
subcontracting
Power Hand
Male
FemaleMale
Female1901
724
3,796 4,520
455 6,558
1,050
7,258
1902
714
3,691 4,405
168 6,307
1,026
7,132
1903
704
4,331 5,035
181 6,429
2,070
10,984
810
1,227
1904
468
2,751 3,219
167 5,629
903
1,946
1,884
7,928
Source : Gunma Ken tokeisho (Statistics of Gunma Prefecture).

Table 6b Production Organization of the silk fabric industry in Yamada County, Gunma Prefecture.
Year Factory industry
Cottage industry
Manufacturers farming out weaving
Weavers subcontracting
NumberNumberNumberNumberNumberNumberNumber of
NumberNumberNamber Number
Numberof factories of loomsof operatives of cottages of loomsof operatives manufacturers of loomsof operatives of wevers of loomsof operatives
Power Hand Male Female
Power Hand Male Female
Power Hand Male Female
Power Hand Male Female
1905
39 152 438
58 648302
0 898
37 1,078
199
0 417
13 5293,540
0 4,20265 4,630
1906
35 152 388
70 897394
0 1,245
91 1,297
109
0 293
26 382
3,663
0 4,161 217 5,002
1907
33 173 418
59 876418
0 1,367
95 1,447
139
0 388
37 468
4,034
0 5,650 263 5,562
1908
32 330 432
60 872390
0 1,298
81 1,382
124
0 343
40 4184,070
0 5,594 301 5,473
1909
41 356 503
54 1,005
423
5 1,369
64 1,463
97
0 280
24 446
4,155
0 5,439 293 5,433
1910
73 420 625
63 1,195385
0 1,291
60 1,384
104
0 322
32 4054,560
0 5,950 324 5,892
1911
66 163 569
46 754375
12 1,399
51 1,377
70
0
0
0
0
4,713
0 6,176 279 6,029
1912
59 204 555
33 816377
12 1,357
35 1,341
99
0
76
21
76
5,337
0 7,347 287 7,144
Source : Gunma Ken tokeisho (Statistics of Gunma Prefecture).

Appendix Weavers under putting-out contract, shown on the issues in 1903 of Kiryu no kogyo (Manufacturing of Kiryu).
Manufacturers
Description and evaluation of the subcontractor told
Subcontractors
Kind of fabricfarming out weavingby the manufacturer
Name
Location
Name (Female/Male)
Location
Kichigoro Ohsawa (M) Hishi 1,"Weaving excellently, they have been dedicated to
Yosokichi Aida
MinatoKaiki
and another.
Umeda 1.
his job for sevral years."
Kiryu 2,
"They have steadilly worked for a few years, with
Shinkichi Takei (M) andShojiro Asakura
Kiryu
Hirosawa 4,
good skill."
9 others
Kasagake 4
Chirimen"She has dedicatedly worked for as long as 20 years."Zensuke Iwasawa
Kiryu
Naka Suto (F)Godo(Crepe)"I've had her weave fabrics for exhibitions.""She worked as an apprentice twenty years ago, andNui Ozaki (F)Sakainosince then until now, she've been sincerely working,with excellently weaving."
Tsune Hirata (F)Kiryu"She has applied herself to weaving good fabrics."
Iku Yamada (F), andMorita 1,"Sincerely and nicely weaving."
another.
Yamamae1.
Giichiro Ohkawa (M), Kiryu 1, Hishi"With very good skill, they have been steadilly
Kakutaro Ueno
Kiryu
Shusu (Satin)and 3 others.
3.
dedicated to weaving for 5-6 years.""They have steadilly worked for as subcontractors of
Torajiro Arai (M), andKohakuTeisuke Ebara
Kiryu
Sakainothe manufacturer for more than 20 years with his
another.
(Taffeta)
excellent skill.""He has steadilly worked for as a subcontractor of the
Sadakichi Moriguchi
Kiryu
manufacturer for more than 20 years with his(M)excellent skill.""She has steadilly worked as a subcontractor of the
Den Arai (F)Kiryu
manufacturer for more than 10 years."
Kiryu"They have worked for 5-6 years with fairlly good
Kikujiro Higashi (M,(throwsters)skill."
throwster), and 5 others.
3, Sakaino 3.

Yoshihei Oshima

Gennojo Okada

Nami Inoue(F), and 2others.
Kazusaburo Yoshida
Shikasaburo Yanagita
Ashikaga(M), and 6 others.
Shinichiro Totsuka (M)Maki Okawa (F), andYabakawa
another.
Yabakawa

Cotton Hakata

Chichibu

Kiryu
Morita 2,
Nirakawa 5.
Nirakawa
Yabakawa 2.

Shusu (Satin)

Kiryu 3.

Kiryu

Kane Sugiyama (F), andYabakawa 2.
another.

Kumajuro Nishida (M)Tsune Unno (F)Cho Shusu(Satin)"Ordinary attitude and ordinary skill.""They have been devoted to weaving Chichibu .
They are the best subcontractors of the"He is promissing whereas he has worked only 1"They have sincerely subcontracted weaving for 1415 years with good skill.""He has sincerely subcontracted weaving from the
manufacturer for more than 10 years.""They have sincerely worked on weaving for morethan 5 years.""They are dedicated to their job."

Kiryu 3.

Koreshichi Suwa (M),and 2 others.

Sakujiro Unno (M), andKiryu 2.
another.

Kiryu 1,
Kasagake 1.

Kiryu"They have steadilly subcontracted weaving from the
manufacturer.""They have subcontracted weaving from the
manufacturer for about 1 year." "They arepromissing subcontractors.""They have subcontracted for as long as 14-15years
with sincerity." "Themanufacturer ask them when heneeds silk fabrics with the best quality.""She has subcontracted weaving from the
manufacturer, and her products are fairlly good."

Omama

Ainosuke Yanagisawa(M)
Kumekichi Kobayashi(M), and another

Buhei Oshima"They have also been dedicated with good skill."

Yamamae

Shusu (Satin)/ "They have steadilly and devotedly subcontracted
other fabrics for weaving from the manufacturer for more than 30
Kimonoyears.""They have also been dedicated ... with good skill for
20 years."

Kinjiro Shimada (M)Kiryu

Eihachi Osawa

Kijuro Shinobe (M), and Kiryu 1,
2 others.
Yamamae 2.

Kiryu

Kiryu

Kiryu

Kiryu

Kiikuro Kato

Shoichi Kato

Eiichiro Kitagawa

Matagoro Kurihara

Kiryu
UmeadaKensaburo Kanai (M)Sentaro Otsuka (M)Kiryu

Yoshitaro Deguchi (M) Kiryu
B(anonymous)
Kiryu
C(anonymous)
Kiryu

Keitaro Fujieda (M)Tsunee Hiruma (M), andAioi3.
2 others.

Aioi 3,Risaburo Noda (M), andKasagake 1,
4 others.
Hirosawa 1.

Kiryu

Togoro Kojima (M)Jihei Maehara (M), andUmeda 2another.

Kankosyusu
Kankosyusu

Moroitoori /Yoshinoori /Ayaitoori /Shimaroori(Striped finegauze)
Moroitoori/
Yoshinoori/
Ayaitoori/
Shimaroori
Kankoshusu(Satin)Shusu (Satin)

Kinzo Nagahashi (M),and 2 others.

Kiryu 2,
Umeda 1.

Shusu (Satin)

Yabakawa 3.

Jihei Maehara (M), and Kiryu 2,2 others.
Umeda 1.

"A" and 2 others(anonymous).

"His attitude and skill are good.""He consumes [embezzles] the weft very much.""He sometimes pawn the [manufacturer's] weft.""The steadiest.""They have woven out sevral kinds of fabrics for 3-4
years" "sincerelly and with good skill.""They have devoted to weaving Moroitoori,
Yoshinoori, Ayaitoori, Shimaroori for 5-6 years""with excellent skill.""They tatek the lead in dishonest trades where they
who often embezzle the weft." "The manufacturer
has payed in advance, but they don't really finish"They have dedicatedly worked for more than 20
years to satisfy the manufacturer.""They have worked on weaving Shusu … for morethan 30 years, having steadilly been devoted to
producing excellent fabrics.""Having sincirely been devoted to their jobs for morethan 25 years.""He has weaved very good fabrics for more than 20
years.""Having steadilly working for more than 15 years.""He has sincerely worked on weaving good fabrics."

Yabakawa

Kiryu

Kiryu

Kiryu

Kiryu

Kiryu

Kiryu

Banshichi Saito

Tokuhei Suzuki

Zenzo Sumiyoshi

Chukichi Tajima

Yuzaburo Tamura

Itaro Tosaka

Nobejuro Tomioka

Kiryu 1,
Sakaino 1.
Umeda
Umeda 3.

Kasagake 3,
Hirosawa 4.
Kiryu 2,
Kasagake 2.

Chokichi Shimizu (M),and another.
Matakichi Okawa (M)Teijiro Hagiwara (M),and 2 others.
Ryokichi Sakurai (M),and 2 others.
Otokichi Morita (M),and 6 others.

Rintaro Shimoyama(M), and 3 others.

Shusu (Satin)

Itoori

Kiryu 2.

Yoshizo Inagawa (M),and another.

Hirosawa

Itoori

Umeda

Nirakawa 2.

Nuijiro Kojima (M)Shinichiro Horie (M),and another.

Shinzaburo Suzuki (M) Kiryu
Shusu (Satin)

Shusu

Masao Hirota (M)Hirosawa

Shusu (Satin)

Cotton Hakata

Yoshihei Nishida (M),Yabakawa 2.
and another
Seijuro Nakamura (M),Kiryu 3.
and 2 others.

"All they have steadilly worked for more than 10
years and their products are especially excellent.""They have sincerely worked for more than 10 years
and their products are good.""They have dedicatedly subonctracted weaving fromthe manufacturer for 10 years" "with excellent skill,and especially sincere, so that they are the best
among his subcontractors.""Their attitude and skill are fair.""Very steadilly.""They have sincerely worked for 7-8 years.""He has dedicatedly and steadilly subcontracted
weaving from the manufacturer for 12 years since1892, with 3-4 looms he owns.""He has dedicatedly subctonracted weaving from the
manufacturer, also with 3-4 looms he owns, and his
weaving good.""Steadilly.""They have steadilly and devotedly subcontracted
weaving from the nafuacturer" "with good skill.""One of the best technicians." "The manufacturers
order products for exhibitions and fairs from them.""He has devoted to weavbing Shusu for 20 years""very steadilly.""Just excellent, whereas he has subcontracted fromthe manufacturer only for one year and little longer."Kiryu

Kiryu

Kiryu

Kiryu

Kiryu

Mojuro Hashimoto

Kyusuke Harase

Takejiro Hoshino

Yasuzo Hosoya

Denjiro Maehara

KawachiD (anonymous)Fumiya Nabeshima (M),Kiryu 3.
and 2 others.
Kyusaku Mukouda (M) Umeda
Isonojo Okawa (M)Kiryu

MoritaKiryu 2.

Otokichi Okawa (M),and another.

Heikichi Kogure (M)Kiryu

Saijiro Ishikawa (M)Shusu (Satin)

Mon Kaiki /Kobai Kaiki

Rin Kurihara (F), and 2
Kiryu 3.
others.

Tatsukichi Hoshino (M), Kiryu 1,
and another.
Kawauchi 1.

Shusu (Satin)

Kiryu

Shusu (Satin)

Kaiki

Unokichi Takahashi (M) Umeda

Shohachi Yoshida (M)Toyo Akagawa (F), andKiryu 2.
another.

Kiryu 1,
Sakaino 1.

Sotaro Suto (M), andanother.

"He has worked well.""No so bad.""They work well and satisfy the manufacturer.""A so-called boom weaver." "During the boom,
weight of fabric is often surprisingly small [he often
embezzels threads], while fairly honest during thedepression like these days.""They have subcontracted weaving from the
manufacturer for about 4 years," "they are honest andtheir prodeucts are excellent.""Whereas he has worked as a subcontractor of the
manufacturer for just 1 year, he is honest and his skill
is good.""He has sincerelly worked for as long as 8 years sothat the manufacturer has been satisfied.""They have steadilly and dedicatedly worked for 7-8
years with very good skill, so that, and they aresteady and fabrics for exhibitions and fairs are woven"They came to work for the manufacturer recently,
and their products are very good.""He has constantly and sincerelly worked on wevaing
good products so that he is the best subcontractor.""They are very honest and their skill is excellent,""having worked for more than 8 years.""He has consistently worked on weaving fo as longas 20 years."ditto.

Kiryu

Kiryu

Kiryu

Kiryu

Genichiro Masao

Teikichi Masuda

Fusataro Matsumoto

Masakichi Maruki

MoritaShusu (Satin)

Kiryu

Hishi

Kaiki

Tadashi Osawa (M), and Umeda 2,
2 others.
Kasagake 1.
Yonekichi Morishita
Umeda
(M)
Shichihei Ishijima (M),Umeda 4.
and 3 others.

Shusu (Satin)
Kaiki

Kiryu 1,
Umeda 1,
Omata 1.

Tsunetaro Mukouda (M) Umeda

Iwakichi Tamura (M),and 2 others.

Katsujiro Suda (M), andOmata 2.
another.

Fusa Tadokoro (F), and Kiryu 1,
another.
Omata 1.

Miki Futawatari (F)Chojiro Toyama (M)Kiryu 1,
Seijuro Suwa (M), and 3
Shimanogo 2, Shusu (Satin)others.
Higashi 1.
Ichitaro Seki (M), and Kiryu 1,
another.
Shimanogo 1.

Kumagoro Sonoda (M) Morita

Asajiro Umesawa (M)"They have steadilly worked for about 3 years.""He has applied himself to subcontracts from the
manufacturer for more than 10 years.""They have been hones for 5 years since they came to
subcontract and their skill is excellent.""He has honestly applied himself to weaving Kaikifor 4 years.""They are relatively devoted.""He has sincerelly worked on weaving for more than
20 years," "and his output is large and its quality is"He has steadilly worked on weaving for more than
20 years and his products are excellent.""They have subcontracted weaving from the
manufacturer with excellent skill, and fabrics for
exhibitions and fairs have been woven by them.""They are honest and have woven excellent fabrics… for 8-9 years.""He and all his family have subcontracted weavingfrom the manufacturer with 3 looms.""She has the most steadilly subcontracted weavingfrom the manufacturer" "with good skill.""They have sincerelly subcontracted weaving fromthe manufacturer for as long as more than 8 years
with good skill.""They have very honestly and devotedly worked on
weaving Shusu ," "so that the manufacturer places hishope on them."Kiryu

Kiryu

Kiryu

Yonekichi Mogi

Matsutaro Motojima

Shohei Wada

Umeda

Kiryu
Kiryu
Umeda 3.

Dai Morishita (F)Denzo Kakinuma (M)Kichijiro Shimizu (M),and 2 others.

Kiryu
Kiryu 1, Hishi
Shusu (Satin)
1.

Fusataro Osawa (M)Mitsusaburo Aramaki(M), and another.

Keijiro Osawa (M), and Kiryu 1,
3 others.
Umeda 3.
Fusa Miyamura (F), andKiryu 5.
4 others.

Umeda

Shusu

Shusu

Shusu (Satin)

Genjiro Maehara (M),and his wife (F).

Sakichi Takakusagi (M) Umeda

Umeda

Soshichi Maehara (M)Kichigoro Kaneko (M),Umeda 3.
and 2 others.

Sai Kanenko (F)"She has sincerelly applied herself to weaving for
more than 30 years, and all of fabrics for exhibitions
and fairs so far have been woven by her.""They have steadilly applied themselves for 16-17
years with weaving excellent products.""He has steadilly worked for more than 16 years withgood skill.""She has consistently and sincerelly applied herself,and her products so good that all of fabrics for
exhibitions are woven by her these days.""He has worked for more than 13 years with weaving
good fabrics.""They have honestly worked on weaving … for 6
years," "they are very hones if ther skill cannot be
said to be excellent.""His skill is very good and he is steady," "withhaving woven good very good fabrics for 10 years.""They have devotedly and consistently appliedthemseves to weaving, and it should be appreciatedthat they still sincerelly work although they are"His skill is very good, he is honest, and he hasapplied himeself to weaving for 2 years.""Their skill is good and they are sincere" "withhaving subcontracted weaving from the manufacturer
for 3-4 years.""He is very sincere wheares he has worked for lessthan 2 years." "Also his skill is good.""They have devotedly subcontracted weaving fromthe manufacturer" "for 6 years since he started hisKiryuF (anonymous)

Umeda

Kiryu

"Not so good," "as he/she sometimes pawns the weftand fabrics woven sometimes dissapear [are stolen].""He/she conducts various kinds of dishonest
transactions."

Source : Kiryu no Kogyo (Manufacturing of Kiryu), no. 53-58, 61-63. 1903.
Notes : All manufacturers are male. "Description" is about one (of subcontractors) whosename is shown. Subcontractors are weavers if without a special mention. Yamada County, Gunma
Prefecture: Town of Kiryu, Town of Omama, Village of Umeda, Hirosawa, Nirakawa,Yabakawa, Aioi, Kawauchi. Nitta County, Gunma Prefecture: Village of Kasagake, Godo,
Sakaino, Shimanogo. Sawa County, Gunma Prefecture: Village of Higashi. Ashikaga County,
Tochigi Prefecture: Village of Hishi, Morita, Yamamae, Omata.

Anonymous

E (anonymous)