TOSHIYUKI TAKEYA/ Staff Writer
July 14, 2017 at 11:00 JST
Editor's note: This is part of a series of videos offering an up-close perspective on the animal kingdom. A special 360-degree video camera system was set up in zoos and other facilities to show how the animals view their world as they interact.
Also visit our special 360-DEGREE LIVES page (http://t.asahi.com/360lives), where you can watch all the previous videos.
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One day in late May, the Tomioka Silk Mill was bustling with activity, but with visitors instead of workers toiling away on the silk reeling machines.
Crowds have become a common sight at the historic factory in Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture, after it was added to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list in 2014.
There is also a sanctuary for silkworms where visitors can watch them chomp on mulberry leaves all through the year.
According to publicist Tomoya Harada, 34, there are about 500 white silkworms as big around as an adult's ring finger on display in one corner of the tour course.
“Because they had been a valuable income source for farmers, they were also called ‘okaiko-sama’ and were taken good care of,” Harada said, referring to the Japanese word for silkworm added with an honorary prefix of “o” and suffix of “sama.”
The insect has a voracious appetite. As soon as fresh mulberry leaves collected at the old mill were placed, the silkworms headed for their meal and made "pitter-patter" noises as they munched the leaves.
There were about 3,000 silkworm-raising farmers in Tomioka in 1968, but today the figure has dropped to 12. The city government has been providing a silkworm kit that comes with 100 young silkworms and the “mabushi” frame for home breeding in an effort to promote a better understanding of sericulture from two years ago.
The silkworm is the larva of the silk moth. They molt four times before secreting threads of silk to weave their cocoons. After the cocoons are dried, they are boiled to draw out one thread of silk about 1,000 meters long from each cocoon. The threads are twisted together to produce raw silk. It is said that 140 cocoons are needed to make a necktie.
For admission, opening hours and other information, visit the Tomioka Silk Mill’s official website at (http://www.tomioka-silk.jp/tomioka-silk-mill/).
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