Reconstruction of fiber industry in Yonezawa after the 2011 earthquake

Abstract

We analyzed the characteristics of recent production in the silk weaving industry in Yonezawa following the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, and the management of successor companies, to support the revival of the industry. We interviewed representatives of the Yonezawa City Office, three weaving companies, and six successors. The fiber industry remains a local industry. The main silk products continue to be made, but shipments have been decreasing. The successors are trying to sell their silk products, but the earthquake has interrupted physical distribution and hindered the maintenance of looms. We suggest that the weaving cooperatives create a region-independent weaving production area, and that they urgently reestablish the loom repair system.