The evening times., 1899-03-24
TEXTILE INDUSTRY IN JAPAN.
Rapid Advance In the Art Of Spin.
ming In Recent Years.

Rapid Advance In the Art Of Spin
ming In Recent Years.
Consul Lyon, Of Hiojo Japan. has given
the State Department an interesting re-
view of the textile industry In Japan. In
a report just issued he says:
1.-The manufacture of textile goods in
Japan extends by means of hand looms all
over the country. The spinning wheel was
formerly In general use, but during the
last twenty years 1t has been almost
wholly displaced by spinning mills using
machinery. More than 1,000.00 spindles
are now thus operated, forty-seven mills
in Japan producing last year an est mated
yield of $780, 900 bales Of yarn Of 400 pounds
each.
Present returns show that more than
100000 bales will be shipped to China dur
ing the current year, and the home denan1
for counts averaging 18c. will be n ar.y
supplied by the remaining 100000 bales.
| Only one of the spinning mills in Japan
| has imported the machinery necessary for
spinning the higher counts above 3,s.
THE Nippon mill, of Osaka, has done
| this, but SO far. has probably not made n
| success of it. Higher counts are steadi y
| imported from England and in greatly in
creasing quantities. to meet the home de-
| mand. When mill hands with greater skill
are to be procured in Japan, the spinning
of the higher counts will increase more
\ rapidly.
Increasing demand for the higher
| counts of cotton yarn explains the rapidly
| growing market for American cotton, from
| which it is produced. 1t would be well for
American cotton producers to nCte this
| fact, with view to educating suffic ent
number of Japanese workmen to become
| expert and teach others, in order to extent
| the sale OF American cotton, from VIII .ch
| the higher counts are made.
| Many of the large class of persons for
merly employed in spinning by hand are
now engaged in weaving textiles on hand
| looms. 1t has recently been computed that
| more than coo, 900 hand looms are in use in
| Japan, and it is stated that they employ
| $4,000 women and $4,000 men. AS these
| hand looms are generally operated in pri-
vate houses. giving a home character to
| the work, 1t can readily be seen why such
slow progress is being made in the intro
| duction of power-weaving machinery.
| The hand looms now in use are called
| 'battan and are an improvement on those
| formerly used. They cost but about yen
$3.50 gold each and take up little room in
a house, while power machine would re-
| quire separate building and with the
necessary power would cost, say, 500 yen
$3.50 gold. The hand loom will produce
| about half as much as a power loom, but
one person could attend to perhaps four or
| five Of the latter at time, and thus be
able to turn out, say, eight or ten times
the product with a power loom as with a
hand loom in the house and the difference
in its cost will perhaps, be sufficient to de-
| lay the introduction of power looms 10 any
great extent for some time to come. The
comparative cost of labor is about ! to s
or 10 in favor of the power looms.
The hand looms are handmade, and are
principally used in supplying some 1.000,-
600 pieces Of goods, say, fourteen inches in
width and from twelve to twenty-five yard:
in length, to the home market and for ex-
port to China and Korea.
1.-The Japanese manufacturers are yery
conservative in their business methods
and manufacture large quantities of goods
only on orders. The largest silk factory in
Japan using power looms is the Kyoto ORR
mono Kaisha, of Kyoto. 1t imported these
machines from France. 1t was the inten-
tion OF the company to manufacture silb
fabrics for export; but after some years
of unsuccessful attempt the project was
abandoned and the company commenced
making satins and obi materials for home
use. In these lines. 1t is said, it has beer
very successful. This mill also manufac.
lures curtain and upholstery materials, and
Ii has found a good market for them il
England and Australia. The power loom.
hrst obtained have been copied here ant
the company is using large numbers O.
them; but they are not equal to the i'm
| ported ones
Silk in its various forms from the raw
material to the finished product is mainl.
exported from Yokohama. The industr,
dates back to an early period, and is toda.
in an advanced condition"