Voice of a Shito Deity
The first silk fabric was made by a merchant named Shozaemon Hata in Johana Town at the end of the Sengoku Period in 1577. While he was praying in a shrine in Kyoto for Johana’s prosperity, he heard the voice of a deity saying that he should worship Sugawara no Michizane’s self-portrait. Shozaemon prayed for industrial prosperity facing the painting for seven days, and he then heard another voice saying that the town would prosper if he designated silk as the town’s main industry. This was the beginning of the silk industry in Johana.

This painting was donated to Suigetsu-ji Temple in Johana as a deity to protect the silk industry. Silk business owners still worship it today.

During the Edo Period (17th Century), cocoons and silk yarn produced in the nearby villages of Tonami and Gokayama were brought to Johana, woven into fabrics and sent to Kyoto and Edo (Tokyo) as “Kaga Silk Fabrics.” This caused Johana’s silk industry to grow rapidly.

By 1693 during the Edo Period, more than half of Johana’s population was involved in silk weaving. The main product was shikeginu which used silk yarn from Gokayama as the warps and double cocoon silk yarn from Tonami as wefts. During the Meiji Period (1868-1912), other fabrics such as “habutae” silk and silk gauze were woven. Various kinds of silk fabrics have been produced in Johana since that time. Today they are the only company which manufactures shikeginu in Toyama Prefecture.

Power of Nature and Proper Soil Preparation
Silkworms eat mulberry leaves, and they grow mulberry trees themselves. In order to produce organic silk, the soil must not contain any inorganic matter. Therefore, in 2019 they began to prepare the soil themselves. While many fabrics are made using scientifically proven methods, they use traditional methods to create fabrics from cocoons to enhance their natural qualities.
(“JOHANAS” is Matsui Silk Weaving’s original brand.)