Tomioka Silk Mill

What to know

Founded in 1872, the Tomioka Silk Mill (富岡製糸場, Tomioka Seishijō) is Japan's first modern factory for processing silkworm cocoons into raw silk. The Japanese government built it as a model facility with assistance from French experts, aiming to elevate silk quality through advanced machinery and improved working conditions. This was part of the Meiji government's broader push to modernize the nation and catch up with Western powers.

The mill earned UNESCO World Heritage status in 2014 for its pivotal role in turning Japanese silk into a major global trade product and establishing textiles as Japan's leading industry for much of the 20th century. Interestingly, several of today's top car manufacturers have textile roots: Toyota began in loom manufacturing, while some Nissan engines evolved from automatic silk reeling machines.

Tomioka was chosen as the mill's location for several reasons: good transport links to Yokohama Port, ample land for a large factory complex, abundant fresh water needed for silk production, proximity to natural cold storage for silkworm eggs, and local availability of resources like coal.

The mill complex comprises several well-preserved buildings that closely resemble their original appearance. The most prominent are three long brick structures: the silk reeling mill, which now houses the modern reeling machines used until the factory closed in the 1980s, and the east and west warehouses for storing cocoons.

Other notable buildings include the luxurious Brunat House, home of French manager Paul Brunat and his family, spacious dormitories for French male and female staff, and simpler dormitories for Japanese workers, mostly women. The coal-burning chimney from the pre-electric era also remains.

Visitors can enter the silk reeling mill and the east and west warehouses, which contain exhibits, but other buildings are viewable only from outside. Guided tours in Japanese cost 200 yen; free audio guides in multiple languages can be downloaded to your smartphone.