Changes

The neighborhood's name, literally meaning "western [military] encampment," derives from it being the area where [[Yamana Sozen|Yamana Sôzen's]] so-called "Western Army" was based during the [[Onin War|Ônin War]] (1467-77).

The neighborhood's name, literally meaning "western [military] encampment," derives from it being the area where [[Yamana Sozen|Yamana Sôzen's]] so-called "Western Army" was based during the [[Onin War|Ônin War]] (1467-77).

It is estimated that at its height in the [[Edo period]], Nishijin's textile industry may have employed as many as 100,000 people, including weavers, spinners, dyers, and others. There were at this time roughly 7,000 ''takabata'' "high looms," which were used to produce the highest quality textiles, and which required two operators at a time; most textiles were produced using the single-operator ''hirahata'', or "flat looms." The businessmen who dominated textile production in Nishijin at this time, over the course of the Edo period, consolidated their control over the industry in a vertical manner, establishing or taking over operations of silkworm cultivation (sericulture), and [[silk]] spinning and dyeing, as well as the weaving and sewing done within Nishijin itself, and the retail and wholesale operations. Many of the families which were most prominent in Nishijin in the Edo period remain the most prominent and powerful families today.

At the beginning of the 16th century, the Nishijin textile guild consisted of only 31 member households, but by [[Genroku]] (c. 1700), there may have been as many as 70,000 people living or working in the neighborhood,<ref name=jansen39>[[Marius Jansen]], ''China in the Tokugawa World'', Harvard University Press (1992), 39-40.</ref> and it is estimated that at its height in the [[Edo period]], Nishijin's textile industry may have employed as many as 100,000 people, including weavers, spinners, dyers, and others. There were at this time roughly 7,000 ''takabata'' "high looms," which were used to produce the highest quality textiles, and which required two operators at a time; most textiles were produced using the single-operator ''hirahata'', or "flat looms." As late as [[1715]], the district operated chiefly on silk thread imported from China, but sericulture expanded dramatically over the course of the 18th century, allowing a switchover to domestic thread, as commanded by the shogunate in [[1713]].<ref name=jansen39/> Nishijin families quickly consolidated their control over the industry in a vertical manner, establishing or taking over operations of silkworm cultivation, [[silk]] spinning, weaving, and dyeing, as well as the sewing done within Nishijin itself, and the retail and wholesale operations.  

 

While Nishijin gradually lost its near-monopolistic hold on the industry as spinning, weaving, dyeing, etc. operations began to sprout up in the provinces, Nishijin families enjoyed the patronage of the shogunate, Imperial court, and many ''daimyô'', and was able to maintain a reputation for providing the highest-quality, most elite materials and garments.<ref>As early as the Genroku period, there were seven Nishijin families which served the shogunate as ''[[goyo shonin|goyô shônin]]'' (official purveyors), and 160 who served various ''daimyô'' in the same capacity, maintaining these relationships in many cases throughout the period. Jansen, 40.</ref> Many of the families which were most prominent in Nishijin in the Edo period remain the most prominent and powerful families today.

Though at the start of the [[Bakumatsu period]] (1850s) Japan lagged behind China and several European countries in silk production, it rapidly caught up and surpassed most other countries. For the entire length of the [[Meiji period]] ([[1868]]-[[1912]]), roughly half of all of Japan's exports were textiles or textile-related products, and by 1938, Japan controlled roughly four-fifths of world silk production.<ref name=conant74>Conant, Ellen. "Cut from Kyoto Cloth: Takeuchi Seihô and his Artistic Milieu." Impressions 33 (2012). p74.</ref>

Though at the start of the [[Bakumatsu period]] (1850s) Japan lagged behind China and several European countries in silk production, it rapidly caught up and surpassed most other countries. For the entire length of the [[Meiji period]] ([[1868]]-[[1912]]), roughly half of all of Japan's exports were textiles or textile-related products, and by 1938, Japan controlled roughly four-fifths of world silk production.<ref name=conant74>Conant, Ellen. "Cut from Kyoto Cloth: Takeuchi Seihô and his Artistic Milieu." Impressions 33 (2012). p74.</ref>