Tomioka Silk Mill

The World Heritage site silk factory which contributed to the modernization of Japan.

The model factory which played a central role in the silk industry. The huge brick building and the machines from those days have been preserved in their original state.

The Tomioka Silk Mill was the model factory established in 1872 for the Meiji government to modernize the country. Following the Meiji Restoration, the government’s goal to improve the quality and manufacturing of raw silk and to nurture the growth of technical advisors was achieved through the construction of a government-operated factory equipped with Western silk-reeling machines which became known as the Tomioka Silk Mill. The mill has been left basically as it was from those days. At the time of its construction, a French engineer specializing in silk, Paul Brunat, was hired to design and then run the mill so that he contributed greatly to the development of the silk-reeling industry in Japan. The mill was designated as a World Heritage site in 2014.