Tomioka Silk Mill (Japan's first mechanised factory)
Hilandería de seda de Tomioka (primera fábrica mecanizada de Japón)
- Date
- 1872 · confidence high
- Place
- Tomioka, Gunma, Japan
- Credited to
- The Meiji government and the French engineer Paul Brunat
- Field
- Tools
What it is
A state-run mill with French mechanical silk-reeling machinery opened in 1872 with workers recruited from samurai families. It was the model for Japanese textile industrialisation and for raw silk exports.
Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. It is an institution more than an invention; its significance lies in technology transfer to East Asia.
What it led to
- raw silk as Japan's main export
- training of technical cadres who spread the method throughout the country
- model of Meiji-era state textile mills