While France can count Lyon among its silk capitals, Japan has also managed to shine and continues to establish itself around the world with this craft. It's notably the city of Kawamata that makes Japanese silks famous.
Renowned for being one of the finest in the world, Kawamata silk is now displayed on haute-couture runways.
Ancestral know-how in Japan
The first written traces attesting to silk-making in the city of Kawamata date back to the 17th century, and its international export to the end of the 19th. Its commercialisation around the world followed the famous "Silk Road", which was active as early as the third century BC and connected the present-day city of Xi'an in China and the city of Antioch, now in Turkey but formerly Syrian.
The beginnings of silkworm farming in the country are attributed to Princess Otohime, from the end of the 6th century. It was then in Fukushima Prefecture, where the city of Kawamata is located, that this craft developed. In 1877, the first mechanised spinning mill was set up in the region, and the processes followed one another. In 1905, most of the manufacturing principles had become mechanised, and a new type of loom appeared, called Ōhashi. From then on, the region and the city put in place various infrastructures to facilitate the commercialisation of silk.
A recognised quality
Japan wasn't the first to establish itself on the international market with silk, since China had opened its market several centuries earlier. However, Japanese silk soon stood out and managed to steal a share of Asian exports.
When we talk about silk in Japan, we obviously think of kimonos made of this same material, which are shown off notably on festival days. Although their aesthetics and colours remain remarkable, it's the "celestial nymph veil" that's also much talked about.
This silk fabric with an astral name is considered the finest in the world. And for good reason: the thickness of the thread being counted in deniers, a hair equals about fifty while the silk thread is only 8. This particularity gives the woven pieces a sensation of lightness and a certain play of transparency.
The "celestial nymph veil" received the Prime Minister's Award at the National Creation Competition in 2012 and is now one of the resources of great current fashion designers. It could be found notably in Jimmy Choo's creations recently.
