News

Osaka-Gunze Limited (Headquarters: Osaka, Japan, President: Toshiyasu Saguchi) [TOKYO: 3002] is pleased to announce that the Gunze Museum in Ayabe City, Kyoto, the birthplace of the company will hold an Ukiyo-e special exhibition and a "Sericulture Festival" on the theme of "Sericulture as a Cultural Link between the Present and the Past" from May 11 in cooperation with Santo Grants. This year's exhibition will feature a variety of exhibits and events focusing on the history of sericulture. Please enjoy experiencing the history of sericulture in Ayabe, the capital of silk.

■About Gunze ukiyo-e prints special exhibition

Exhibition period & time

From Saturday, May 11 to Sunday, May 19
10:00-16:00

Place

Gunze museum in Mirai Gura gallary
1 Zeze, Aono-cho, Ayabe-city, Kyoto

Admission

Free

Exhibits

From the Ukiyo-e collection of the Gunze Museum, this exhibition features ukiyo-e prints related to the history of modern sericulture. Seven (7) prints out of eleven (11) are on display for the first time.

■Introduction of ukiyo-e prints for display

Ukiyo-e is a type of Japanese woodblock print that was popular from the Edo period to the Meiji period. Many ukiyo-e prints were created to depict the lifestyle, customs and fashions of the time, with nishiki-e, or multi-color woodblock prints, being particularly popular with people. This exhibition featured works related to modern sericulture techniques.

Kaiko-yasinai-gusa by Utagawa Kunifuku

This Ukiyo-e print depicts women working in the sericulture industry, which produces raw silk from cocoons.

■About Sericulture Festival

Festival period & time

Saturday, May 11 and Sunday, May 19
10:00-16:00

Place

Gunze museum in Mirai Gura and Tsudoi Gura gallary
1 Zeze, Aono-cho, Ayabe-city, Kyoto

Admission

Free, some workshops require a registration fee

Program

(1) Sericulture Workshop
・11,12,18,19 May: Mulberry picking & mulberry feeding
Location: Gunze Mulberry Garden, Free of charge
・11,12 May: Cocoon Threading & Ornament Making
50 persons/day, Registration fee JPY 500
・11,12 May: Cotton Threading & Cotton Card Making
30 people/day, Registration fee JPY 500
・18,19 May: Cocoon ball crafting
30 persons/day, Registration fee JPY 500
*Time needed: 30-60 minutes for all activities.
*Children under the age of 6 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

(2) Lectures on sericulture
・11 May 13:00〜14:00
"Co-creation Society Envisioned in Sericulture City”
Lecturer: Kuma Takashi, General Incorporated Association of Santo Grants
・12 May 13:00-14:00
"Exploring the Potential of Okaiko-san and Sericultural Heritage" Lecturer: Yoshida Takehiko, Sericultural Heritage Study Group

(3) Exhibition Connecting Present and Past Cultures through Sericulture
・Introduction to the activities of Santo Grants
・How cocoons are made
・Lives and aspirations of sericulture farmers - Sericulture heritage of Ayabe, Kyotamba and Fukuchiyama
・Art Exhibition: Art Brut, Digital Art, NFT techonology
・15 May 10:00-14:00
"Gallery Talk on the Exhibited Works”
Lecturer: Aoe Tomohiro, Curator, Kyoto Prefectural Tango Folk Museum

■About Gunze

Gunze was founded in 1896 by Tsurukichi Hatano in Ikaruga Ward (now Ayabe City) to promote the local silkworm industry. The founder had an enthusiastic determination to contribute to the development of his hometown community by promoting the local silk industry. He believed that this should serve as Ikaruga's policy, so he named his company Gunze Silk Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (later renamed Gunze Limited), with "Gunze" meaning "district policy" in Japanese. Today, Gunze is a leading designer and manufacturer of plastic films, engineering plastics, medical devices, electronic components, apparel and other products. Gunze employs more than 5,200 people in 10 countries around the world.