Kasaoka Silk Mill

...A general term for the industrial areas distributed along the coast of the Seto Inland Sea. Along with the industrial areas of Hanshin and Kitakyushu, the three prefectures of Okayama, Hiroshima, and Yamaguchi are considered to be part of the Pacific Belt Zone, but Kagawa and Ehime are also included. In the early modern period, the inland sea was directly connected to the Osaka market, and wooden ships with their ancient tradition of sailing were built, which led to the cotton industry, salt industry, copper mining, as well as the production of Buddhist altars, sewing needles, and fans. In the early Meiji period, a privately run spinning mill and the government-run Hiroshima Spinning Mill were established, and modern spinning companies with Osaka capital advanced into the inland sea. In response to this, machine spinning, which developed from the locally-owned Kurashiki Spinning Mill, expanded to Ehime and Yamaguchi prefectures in 1883, and the chemical fiber industry at the end of the Taisho period became the main industry of the region until the 1930s. ...

*Some of the terms used in reference to "Kasaoka Silk Mill" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…瀬戸内海の沿岸に分布する工業地域の総称。阪神･北九州の工業地帯とともに，太平洋ベルト地帯の一環として岡山･広島･山口3県を考えるが，香川･愛媛2県を含むこともある。近世，大坂市場に直結する内海，古く操船の伝統を含む木造船の建造などから綿業･塩業･採銅や仏壇･縫針･団扇などがあった。明治初期に民営の紡績所，官営広島紡績所ができ，大坂資本の近代紡績が内海へ進出した。これに対抗する地元資本倉敷紡績から発展した機械紡績は88年愛媛･山口県に拡大し，大正末の化学繊維工業は昭和10年代まで地域の主要産業となった。…

※「笠岡製糸場」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報