絹綿交織物産地の形成過程 : 満州柞蚕糸と賃機による後進機業地見附の産地形成

With the progress of the industrial revolution in Japan (1886-1907), the cotton spinning industry, known as a typical examaple of industry transplanted from abroad, began to dominate the domestic cotton textile industry by means of monopolistic prices. Under this control, it seemed almost impossible for traditional textile-centers such as Mitsuke to survive in the keen competition with other textile producing areas. However, Mitsuke became famous for its distinctive silk-and-cotton fabrics woven out of tusser (a kind of silk threads produced in Manchuria). This process can be briefly outlined as follows. In the 1880's,the ori-moto(merchant-manufacturers) in Mitsuke asked their weavers to produce by hand looms cotton fabrics out of imported cotton yarn. These fabrics, produced under the putting-out system, were then sold to the peasants in the regions of Tohoktu and Hokkaido. Gradually some of them began to produce silk cloth out of tama-ito. After the Sino-Japanese War, instead of tama-ito, they used tusser made in Manchuria and began to produce new silk-and-cotton fabrics. Taking advantage of the sale of these products, Mitsuke became a center for the production of silk-and-cotton fabrics. During the l910's, in the Kansai market, the largest distributing center of textiles, Mitsuke became famous as the tnird center for the production of silk-and-cotton fabrics next to Ashikaga and Bisai districts. In my opinion Mitsuke's success was based on two factors. The first was the low price (1/3 of sill thread) of tusser from Manchuria. With the advancement of urbanization as background, the new products of Mitsuke were in great demand among city dwellers because of their low prices and good appearance. Thus drapers and ori-moto could make great profits for the low price of raw material. For the Manchuria was not a market for finished products but a market for the provision of raw material. The second factor was the ability to regulate the wages of weavers tlaanks to the force of the guild of ori-moto. For example, during the mid-boom after the Sino-Japanese War, they recruited weavers from other textile areas around Mitstuke by means of higher wages in order to increase the output of new products. But wlaen the recession set in and the cotton spinning industry began to force its nt' monpolistic price on the domestic textile industry, the guild immediately lowered wages for the putting-out system. It was already impossible for the weavers, who were mostly daughters of impoverished tenant farmers to leave the ori-moto in Mitstnke because of the decline in the surrounding textile areas.