Tsumugi (cloth)

Between 1910 and 1925 (late Taishō to Shōwa era), it became common to spin as well as weave silk noil by machine (see meisen for the technological developments that made this possible).

Prices dropped drastically, and silk materials and clothing was suddenly within the budget of most Japanese;[6] stores also began to sell off-the-peg, ready-to-wear kimono at about this time.

[7] Originally, tsumugi was homemade from domestic or wild-gathered silkworm cocoons that had been broken by hatching[8] or were irregularly formed.

[9] Traditionally a peasant cloth, handmade tsumugi is very labour-intensive to produce, and has become expensive over time, valued as a luxury folk-craft.

Tsumugi was originally a homespun textile, produced using silk fibre deemed unusable for the production of finer fabrics, and many regional variations existed.