Getting Wrapped Up in Gunma’s World Heritage Site, Tomioka Silk Mill

Designed with the help of French raw silk specialists to help maximize production efficiency and quality, the mill still stands more or less as it did almost 150 years ago. It became a World Heritage Site in 2014, was recognized as a pivotal catalyst in the commodification of Japanese raw silk for international trade. The mill also kick started the nation’s silk reeling industry, which became one of the most important economic pillars of the 20th century. Upon the mill’s inception it was a state-of-the-art facility, attracting female workers from all over the country to learn and perfect yarn-making techniques that combined traditional Japanese methodologies with technological advances of the West. (Photo provided by Gunma Prefecture.)