2023 Volume 31 Pages 41-52
For this study, we specifically examined water temperatures used for cooking cocoons and reeling raw silk. To assess technology changes, we examined 68 academic documents and technical books about raw silk production, published from the Meiji era (1869–1912), Taisho era (1912–1926), and Showa era (1926–1989). The findings confirmed a dispersion of water temperatures used for cooking cocoons and reeling raw silk from the early to mid-Meiji era. Water temperatures for cooking cocoons and reeling raw silk converged at a high temperature after the late Meiji era.
Factors causing the dispersion of water temperatures for cooking cocoons and reeling in the first half of the Meiji era were low-quality cocoon raw materials, underdeveloped cocoon drying technologies, and production processes specialized for efficiency. We also surmised that cocoon cooking water temperature convergence to higher temperatures from around 1900 was attributable to the continuation of efficiency-oriented production objectives and the subsequent shift to quality-oriented production objectives because of improved cocoon raw material quality.
