Tomioka Silk Mill, National Historic Site in Tomioka, Japan.
Tomioka Silk Mill is a former government-run silk reeling factory in Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture, about 100 km northwest of Tokyo. Its timber-framed brick buildings, including the reeling hall with 300 reels and cocoon warehouses, stand largely as they did in the 1870s, with tall windows and white shutters set in red brick walls.
The government founded the operation in 1872 to introduce French techniques to Japan and turn the country into a leading silk nation. French engineers supervised construction and the first years before Japanese specialists took over management and refined the knowledge further.
The mill's name comes from the town of Tomioka. Its first female workers, many the daughters of former samurai, were taught reading and writing at a workers' school set up by 1878, and they learned reeling from French instructors. Some, like Wada Ei, later taught at other mills, and her diary records the life there.
Tours run in Japanese, but multilingual audio guides explain each room and the machinery in detail. The grounds are mostly flat and easy to walk, with only a few stairs leading to upper floors of production buildings.
The machinery from the 19th century still stands in its original spots because operations continued until 1987 and kept the equipment intact. Some wooden spools and metal frames bear scratches and wear marks from over a century of daily work.
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