Slip into the World of Silk: Tango Chirimen in Yosano
Stroll through Yosano Town dressed in an elegant, high-grade kimono and you may even catch the faint rattling of weaving looms. Long renowned for its textile production, the region once supplied some 60% of the silk used for kimonos in Japan. Discover firsthand the town's pride and joy, Tango chirimen silk—a textured crepe of head-turning quality and sophistication rooted in techniques developed during the feudal Edo period.
The old highway in the Kaya district of Yosano Town is called the "Chirimen Highway", and there are many buildings such as merchant houses, clinics, and banks that convey the bustle of the former town. In the modern age, this region prospered as a major producer of “Tango Chirimen (a fabric imparted with an uneven surface by special technique)” that is the silk fabric used in high-end Japanese kimonos. A town-scape with the modern atmosphere of this period still remains at Chirimen Street, a perfect backdrop for a stroll in a rental kimono.
Tango Chirimen History Museum is located in well-established silk fabrics company ruins in The Town of Yosano. Saw-shaped triangle roof peculiar to textile mill is impressive building. Process visit and document display of Tango Chirimen, handwoven experience are possible in hall. Former Bito Family Residence is a raw thread crepe merchant house rebuilt in 1863, and there is also a Western-style building that was expanded in the early Showa period. The head of the Bito family has served as Oshoya during the Edo period, as president of Tango Bank after the Meiji era, president of Kaya Railway, and mayor of Kaetsu.
The old highway in the Kaya district of Yosano Town is called the "Chirimen Highway", and there are many buildings such as merchant houses, clinics, and banks that convey the bustle of the former town. In the modern age, this region prospered as a major producer of “Tango Chirimen (a fabric imparted with an uneven surface by special technique)” that is the silk fabric used in high-end Japanese kimonos. A town-scape with the modern atmosphere of this period still remains at Chirimen Street, a perfect backdrop for a stroll in a rental kimono.
Tango Chirimen History Museum is located in well-established silk fabrics company ruins in The Town of Yosano. Saw-shaped triangle roof peculiar to textile mill is impressive building. Process visit and document display of Tango Chirimen, handwoven experience are possible in hall. Former Bito Family Residence is a raw thread crepe merchant house rebuilt in 1863, and there is also a Western-style building that was expanded in the early Showa period. The head of the Bito family has served as Oshoya during the Edo period, as president of Tango Bank after the Meiji era, president of Kaya Railway, and mayor of Kaetsu.
