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Silk production is one of the classic examples of cottage industries and by-employments that constituted Edo period proto-industrialization, while the great Japanese demand for the import of silk, largely in exchange for the export of [[silver]] and [[copper]], and later of marine products, was a major driving force in foreign trade concerns and policies. By the 19th century, Japan had become a major producer of silk, and the European and American demand for Japanese silk became a major element of foreign trade considerations.
Silk production is one of the classic examples of cottage industries and by-employments that constituted Edo period proto-industrialization, while the great Japanese demand for the import of silk, largely in exchange for the export of [[silver]] and [[copper]], and later of marine products, was a major driving force in foreign trade concerns and policies. By the 19th century, Japan had become a major producer of silk, and the European and American demand for Japanese silk became a major element of foreign trade considerations.
==Origins==
According to legend, silk was first discovered by Empress Leizu (嫘祖), around 2650 BCE. As the story goes, a silkworm cocoon fell into her tea cup, and began to uncurl; the empress then found that when she spun the threads, they produced a soft and strong cloth.<ref name=pam>"Making Silk," gallery labels, Pacific Asia Museum.[https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/14994269872/sizes/h/]</ref>
Archaeological research has found, however, evidence of sericulture going back as far as six or even seven thousand years in China.<ref name=pam/>
==Importation of Silk==
==Importation of Silk==
