{Inter} Cultural Japan

Talking about weaving maidens… the city of Kiryu in eastern Gunma (about 90 km from Tokyo) is already since the seventh century known for its textiles. In the Edo period there was the saying: “For the west, it is Nishijin, for the east, it is Kiryu,” bringing the two major weaving centers of the country together.

[Japanese Textile Museum “Yukari” in Kiryu, Gunma. Photo © Ad Blankestijn]

Evidence of Kiryu’s textile manufacturing past can still be seen in the form of the many sawtooth roof mills and earthen-walled warehouses for storing silks one encounters around the city. Textile manufacturing continues today, but in recent years the production of automotive parts is the more flourishing industrial sector, not to speak of another Japanese cultural contraption, the pachinko machine.

You can find a vestige of the textile past in the Japanese Textile Museum “Yukari,” which displays old wooden looms, spinning wheels, spools, and other implements of the traditional textile industry. Several of the looms in the large exhibition room are in working order and demonstrated by staff. The facility also features a dyeing workshop for aizome and a small factory where modern machines are clicking away.

Tel. 0277-45-3111

Hrs. 10:00-17:00, Cl Mon

Access: 15 min walk from Kiryu St. Exit N side, right into shopping street, left at junction with main street, right at Honcho 4-chome junction. Look for tower of church opposite museum. The fastest way to Kiryu from Tokyo is to take the Tohoku Shinkansen from Tokyo to Oyama (40 min, note that not all trains stop here) and there change to the JR Ryomo line which takes another hour to reach JR Kiryu St. It is also possible to take the Tobu Ryomo Express from Asakusa or Kita-Senju to Shin-Kiryu (this also takes 1 hr 40 min), but note that Shin-Kiryu St is inconvenient for the museum, which stands closer to JR Kiryu St.

Note: Look here for more things to do in Kiryu (there is also a nice private art museum).

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