Tomioka Silk Mill Travel & Tours | Tourist Attractions

Click here for tourist information on Tomioka Silk Mill, which has been selected as a World Heritage Site! We introduce the attractions of Gunma Prefecture, Tomioka City, historical buildings, and important cultural properties. There are bus tours where you can Accommodation at famous hotels and inns in Old Karuizawa, enjoy famous sites, relaxing hot springs, buffets, and seasonal gourmet food. On Club Tourism website, you can easily search and book a variety of tours, from those for individuals to those with families and friends.

What is Tomioka Silk Mill?
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What is Tomioka Silk Mill?

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Japan's first full-scale mechanical silk-reeling factory

The Tomioka Silk Mill was built in 1872 at the request of the Meiji government and under the direction of the Frenchman Brunat.
The group of timber-frame and red brick buildings has been preserved almost exactly as it was at the time, and is an architecturally significant site that contributed to the modernization of Japanese industry.
The factory also made a major contribution to the technological innovation and spread of the silk industry, and the entire site is a nationally designated historic site, with the early buildings designated as Important Cultural Properties.

Why was it selected as a World Heritage Site?

Great contribution to the development of the global silk industry and the popularization of silk
Through Tomioka Silk Mill, sericulture techniques spread overseas, contributing to the development of the silk industry.
The main facilities remain in good condition as they were when the facility was first established.
It is extremely rare worldwide for a factory from the late 19th century to remain almost intact.

Construction Leader Paul Brunat

The Meiji government hired the Frenchman Paul Brunat as a foreign instructor and built a silk mill. Brunat invited engineers from France and ordered Western-style machinery that was modified to suit the physique of the Japanese.
Within the factory grounds is the Brunat House, the residence where Brunat lived with her family and maids, which was built in 1873. After Brunat left in 1880, the house was used as a night school and dormitory for factory girls.

Advanced working conditions for factory girls

Because the construction was supervised by the French, the working hours and conditions of the women who worked at the silk mill were very advanced in Japan at the time, incorporating European methods.
The actual working hours per day were about eight hours, and the workers' wages were based on efficiency, so if they had high technical ability they could become a first-class worker, which was a very advanced system for the time.