The History of Shinjo Kameayaori
Beginning from the rule of the third lord, the Shinjo Domain's finances were in a state of decline due to the extravagant financial practices of his predecessor, the second lord Tozawa Masanobu, in addition to recurrent cold weather and poor harvests. However, under the reign of the ninth lord, Tozawa Masatsugu, the domain emulated the example of the Yonezawa Domain's financial recovery by promoting frugality and domestic production. One prime example of this was in 1830, when the domain invited weaving experts from the Joshu Region (present-day Gunma Prefecture) to train and develop the skills for production of silk fabrics. Among those invited were Yoshijuro of Kiryu, Hatsugoro of Tatebayashi, Shoji of Sano, and Sanjuro Nagauchi. Nagauchi established a waterwheel-powered weaving workshop within the Oyama family residence in Ishikawa-cho, where he conducted research and taught. He is said to have invented a tortoiseshell patterned silk fabric, naming it "kameayaori.” After that, dozens of different types of silk fabric patterns were woven, including the aforementioned tortoiseshell pattern, sayagata weave, and a diamond-shaped hishigata weave, but these patterns were all collectively referred to as kameayaori. Yoshijuro, Katsugoro, and Shoji are also thought to have woven a hanging Buddha scroll of the 33 Kannon Bodhisattvas using kameayaori, which is currently housed at Chosenji Temple in Teppo-cho. Hanging Buddhist scrolls made of silk such as this one are quite rare, even within Japan.
Most households in the domain planted mulberry trees in the fields around their homes, raised silkworms, spun thread, and wove silk cloth, as this was the only side job available to the women and children of the domain's samurai. The finished fabric product was sold in its pure-white form in Edo.
During the Boshin War in 1868, all residences and silk weaving tools burned down in the fires of war, causing a temporary halt in the weaving industry. In 1870, the feudal lord Tozawa Masazane set up a vocational school at his villa in Tokiwa-cho to help impoverished former samurai. Masazane gathered women and children of the samurai class to teach them weaving, and kameayaori was revived. In September 1881, during Emperor Meiji's tour of the Tohoku Region, he purchased 34 bolts of kameayaori woven fabric, which included the large yatsuhashi pattern and eight others, to encourage the industry.
Despite the Emperor's contributions, the vocational center closed due to a lack of funds, but eventually reopened with funding from the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce in 1888. Moriyama Yoshiemon from Kiryu was invited to be an instructor and taught at the center for about six months. However, after the center once again closed around 1903, three or four privately run businesses along with a few private households running individual cottage industries continued to keep Shinjo's weaving industry alive.
When the prefectural junior high school was founded in 1903, rooms once convenient for sericulture (silk farming) were converted into boarding houses, thus finally bringing the manufacturing of kameayaori to end. Lamenting the decline of this specialty product, Otake Sue built a weaving mill in Shinmeicho in 1914 and installed mechanized looms to restart weaving production. However, due to an already declining industry in addition to the high costs and difficulty of mechanizing the kameayaori techniques, financial difficulties inevitably arose for the mill which subsequently led to its closure in 1926. Shibue Tokino and Fukui Yoshinosuke both attempted to revive the mill in 1931 and after World War II in 1946, respectively, but these efforts were short-lived.
Thus, the prestigious kameayaori weaving tradition, which dates back to the feudal domain era, was lost to history as a “fabric of myth,” with only its name remaining, much to the regret of the local people.
Shinjo Kameayaori's History -
A Brief Timeline
1830
1868
1870
1888
1903
1914
1919
1926
1931
1946
1981
1982
1985
1986
2001
2017
2018
2020
2025
The story of kameayaori begins when Tozawa Masatsugu, the ninth lord of the Shinjo Domain, invites skilled weavers from Joshu (present-day Gunma Prefecture) and promotes the textile as a specialty product of the domain.
During the fires of the Boshin War, all tools used in kameayaori production are destroyed.
The feudal lord Masazane establishes a vocational training center, gathering women and children of the samurai class to learn and revive the weaving techniques.
The vocational training center closes due to financial difficulties, but later reopens with funding from the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce.
With the opening of a prefectural junior high school, the silkworm-raising rooms are converted into boarding houses, bringing kameayaori weaving to an end once again.
The factory relocates to the Otake residence in Shinmei-cho.
Otake begins weaving using mechanical looms.
Due to an industry-wide recession, the difficulty of mechanizing kameayaori techniques, and rising production costs, the company is unable to continue operations and closes.
Shibue Tokino attempts to revive kameayaori, but the effort is abandoned.
Fukui Yoshinosuke also attempts to revive kameayaori, but this effort is likewise abandoned.
Shinjo Kameayaori is selected for the Study on the Development of Local Specialty Products in the Mogami Model Settlement Area, and research committee activities begin.
Shinjo City commissions the restoration of kameayaori to the Okitama Testing Laboratory of the Prefectural Industrial Technology Center, successfully restoring nine weaving patterns, including sayagata and yatsuhashi.
The Shinjo Kameayaori Traditional Culture Association is established.
Mr. Miyashita, a specialist from the Okitama Testing Laboratory, is invited as a lecturer, and educational initiatives on kameayaori begin.
These practical learning activities bear fruit, and the sayagata pattern, considered the foundation of kameayaori, is successfully restored.
The “Ori Nagaya” weaving experience workshop opens on Shinjo Station Street.
The “Shinjo Kameayaori” logo is registered as a trademark.
The “Ori Nagaya” closes, and the Shinjo Kameayaori Traditional Culture Association relocates to Tokamachi, Shinjo City.
The "Shinjo Kameayaori Revitalization Project" is launched.
A public unveiling ceremony for Shinjo Kameayaori is held, and three brands are established: Shinjo Kameayaori, Shinjo Ayaori, and Mogami Shinjoori.
The Shinjo Kameayaori Traditional Culture Association and Workshop relocate to Gensan no Mori at the Shinjo City Ecology Garden.
Shinjo Kameayaori is registered as a city-designated cultural property.
The Shinjo Kameayaori Traditional Culture Association and Workshop relocate to the former Miyoshiya Honten building in Honcho.
The Mogami Sakegawa–Teigetsudo Select Shop opens to showcase products made with Shinjo Kameayaori alongside traditional crafts from the Shinjo–Mogami area.