Production of Western-style Consumer Goods during Early Japanese Industrialization

Case Study of Inaoka Co., a Rural Towel Manufacturer during the Meiji Period

Abstract

This paper examines the handloom production of towels for export to China, in the centralized manufacturing workshop of Inaoka Company, a Western-style consumer goods manufacturer in Innami, Hyogo Prefecture, in the aftermath of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905).

Unlike plain cotton cloth, when weaving towels, a pile must be woven on the front and back of the fabric. Therefore, two types of warp threads must be prepared in the pre-weaving process and a unique beating motion called terry motion, the basis of towel weaving, must be applied. Before starting to work at Inaoka Co., the female workers had only woven plain cotton cloth. Therefore, they had to learn terry motion to weave the towels.

To ensure the company could keep the female workers who had learned terry motion, Inaoka Co. organized their production in a centralized manufacturing workshop rather than as a cottage industry. A manufacturing office was established at the head office, and some branch manufacturing workshops were also established in areas where it was possible to find suitable female handloom weavers.

As a result, the company could train a core of female workers away from the household work of farmers; however, there were some differences in degree between the head office and the branches. Inaoka’s head office and branch manufacturing organizations resulted in a stable production system of towels and the implementation of double shifts at the head office and in some branches.