Silk
 |
| https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Silk_worm_21_days_01.jpg |
Silk is one of the highest qualities of fiber and
historically only used by royalty and the wealthy few. Due to processing that
allows fibers to be spun in long, unbroken strands and the natural strength of
the fibers, silk can be used to create fabric that is the strongest for its weight
of any commercial natural fiber. The triangular shape of silk fibers gives the
threads and fabrics made with them a satiny sheen and it takes well to dyes.
 |
| https://pixabay.com/photos/kimono-japanese-traditional-fabric-637942/ |
Silk is taken from cocoons of Bombyx caterpillars which are
raised eating mulberry leaves and sometimes Osage Orange. The sheen seen in
silk comes as a result of the fibers being triangular (4). Most commercial
silkworms in use are a variety called Bombyx mori that originated in China,
although over 600 varieties of this silkworm can be found in Japan today (4,1).
Silkworm varieties are determined based on the qualities of their silk.
Silkworms grow best in a relatively dry environment due to bacterias that
thrive in humidity and can form cocoons twenty-five to twenty-eight days after
hatching (1). In Japan the highest producing area has historically been, and
remains, Gunma, which lies Northwest of Tokyo. (6)
Although silk is one of the fibers most strongly associated with
Japan and traditional Japanese textiles, Silk was not introduced to Japan from
China until around the time of the Yayoi invasion (11,8). There are several different
legends regarding the way that silk was brought to Japan. The Nishonshiki says,
“When Uke Mochi No Kami (God of Food) was found dead, a silkworm came out of
his eyebrow.. The Sun Goddess, Amaterasu O-Mikami taught to put the cocoon
(silkworm) in her mouth to reel a thread. This was the beginning of sericulture
(13).” Another story claims that silk was brought to Japan in the 4th
century by four girls from China (4). Yet another story claims that silk was
brought to Japan by a Chinese man who came to Japan carrying a cluster of
silkworm eggs in 199 CE (12). This last one is most consistent with historical
records from the time. Regardless of how silk came to Japan, Chinese records state
that Japanese Yamatai kingdom gave a gift of Silk to Wei in the third century (13),
which indicates that Silk was probably well established in Japan as a
commercial product by that time. Although for centuries after its introduction,
silk was imported from other countries that had already developed the technology
and systems necessary (8). The Engi-Shiki, which was edited in the 10th
century, states that silk was produced int forty-eight out of the sixty-one provinces
(13). For most of its history this silk was only used by the nobility. During
the Tokugawa Shogunate, silk was primarily used for domestic purposes and could
only be used by those in the social stratum of princes, priests, noblemen, and
military officers (12). Although I think silk was primarily processed commercially,
silk worms were often grown in homes. The traditional Japanese thatched houses
contained an are in the attic for raising silkworms (4). Japanese silk was long
considered the finest in the world and for some time silk and silk worms sold to
France from Japan accounted for more than half of the world’s production (4).
After the coming of Mathew Perry and the end of the Japanese Isolation Policy, Japan
began to export large amounts of raw silk and silkworm eggs (13). This was
because Japanese silkworms were immune to a disease that was wiping out
silkworms in Europe and elsewhere in the world. The disease was eventually
controlled with a method developed by Pasture and the rest of the world began
to produce more of their own silk. Around the time of the first and second
world wars the exportation of silk under went many changes. Rayon and
synthetics were beginning to be produced and grow in popularity in the west
which lowered the demand for silk from Japan. Exports plummeted during the
Great Depression and in the year 1941 a control act was established that halted
the export of raw silk. In Post war Japan it became necessary to import food,
and to acquire the foreign currency, export of silk was once again legalized
and encouraged. (13)
There are several methods of extracting silk from the
silkworm cocoons. The mawata method that
 |
| http://www.sagahill.com/UnDyedFiber.html |
 |
| https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SilkReeling2.jpg |
Another more precise and therefore higher quality and more
well known method of silk production is to reel the fibers individually from the
cocoons. This method is called “Kairyo Zaguri” and was developed when raw silk
was becoming a prominent export to standardize the reeling process (13). The
cocoons can be dried in the sun, steamed, refrigerated or essentially baked to
kill the silkworm and preserve the cocoon. The cocoons are then boiled and
strands of silk are taken from each cocoon and reeled onto a bobbin to pull
clean threads from the cocoons (14). These reeled threads are considered raw
silk and still have sericin. They were historically reeled by the farmer before
being shipped to a larger-scale facility to be cleaned and re-reeled (13). The
sericin can be removed by boiling the threads with lye made from wood ash (14).
At this point the threads can be dyed, spun, and used for whatever purpose it
is intended. Because the silk is reeled thread by thread with this method, it
can be spun thread by thread to create an incredibly even and fine thread
without loosing strength from over-spun or broken fibers.
“About Silkworms.” Silkworm Shop - How to Care for Silkworms and
How to Raise Silkworms, The Silkworm Shop, 2019,
www.silkwormshop.com/silkworm_info.html.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Ramie.” Encyclopædia
Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 23 Jan. 2009,
www.britannica.com/plant/ramie.
“Cotton.” Samurai, The Samurai Archives, 10 May 2017,
wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=Cotton.
Hays, Jeffrey. “JAPANESE SILK.” Facts and Details, 2009,
factsanddetails.com/japan/cat20/sub136/item745.html.
Hays, Jeffrey. “JOMON CULTURE (10,500–300 B.C.): CLOTHING, MUSIC AND
BODY ADORNMENT.” Facts and Details, Sept. 2009,
factsanddetails.com/japan/cat16/sub105/entry-5282.html.
Kashiwa, Masahiro. “Japan's Silk Industry Weaves Its Way into the 21st
Century.” Nikkei Asian Review, Nikkei Asian Review, 29 Mar. 2014,
asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/Japan-s-silk-industry-weaves-its-way-into-the-21st-century.
Kyodo. “Getting Serious about Saving the Silk Industry.” The
Japan Times, The Japan Times, 17 Nov. 2008, www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2008/11/17/national/getting-serious-about-saving-the-silk-industry/#.XM9s3egzbIU.
Major, J. (2019). Japanese Textiles. [online]
Fashion-history.lovetoknow.com. Available at:
https://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/clothing-around-world/japanese-textiles
[Accessed 20 Apr. 2019].
“MAWATAS - SILK HANKIES TO SPIN.” Mawatas: Making Silk Hankies,
Worm Spit, www.wormspit.com/mawatas.htm.
Park, Yoshinogari Historical. “Yoshinogari's History.” Yoshinogari's
History : Yayoi Trivia : YOSHINOGARI HISTORICAL PARK, 2008,
www.yoshinogari.jp/en/contents2/categoryId_5.html.
“Silk History.” Silk Road,
www.silk-road.com/artl/silkhistory.shtml.
“The Silk Industry In Japan In The 1800s.” Silk Circa 1840:
Chin/Mommaneni Paper, Northampton Silk Project, 26 Aug. 2002,
www.smith.edu/hsc/silk/papers/chin.html.
“Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites.” Tomioka Silk Mill and
Related Sites : History, UNESCO, 2014, worldheritage.pref.gunma.jp/en/ksg-ht/.
勝山織物株式会社 . “勝山織物株式会社.” 勝山織物, かつやま,
www.katsuyamaorimono.co.jp/.
Comments
Post a Comment