Silk floss - Mawata

It is made by stretching waste cocoons flat and making them look like cotton. Cocoons that are not used for silk production, such as shells and balls of cocoons, are boiled and refined with lye or soda, washed thoroughly, and then spread out by hand one by one in water, spread out on a frame that has been nailed in four places so that it forms a square, hook the ends on the nails to make a square, and then stack several sheets and dry. This is called square silk floss. In recent years, it has tended to be used for personal use, and is no longer seen in the market. Today, it is called bag silk floss, and bag-shaped ones are sold in the market. This is made by putting your hand inside the cocoon to spread it out, making it into a bag, and then stacking several sheets and drying it. In the Edo period, cocoons were made into a bag shape and covered with a hat-like mold, and several sheets were stacked on top of each other to make it. Silk floss was used for kosode (shoulder sleeves) at that time, and there was a great demand for it. Silk floss has little elasticity, but is strong when pulled, does not tear easily, and has excellent heat retention. It is produced in Fukushima Prefecture, Nagano Prefecture, Shiga Prefecture, and other areas.

With the advancement of cotton cotton, silk floss was used as an underlay to reinforce cotton-cotton wadding, but in recent years, underlay silk floss is no longer used for futons, tanzen, etc. Silk floss is not only used as a filling material and reinforcement, but is also used as weaving thread. That is, silk floss is stretched thin and twisted to make warp and weft threads, which are dyed and woven on a loom to make tsumugi fabric. A representative example of this is Yuki tsumugi, a traditional textile that has been designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property. In recent years, large bag silk floss has been called shoulder silk floss and is sold commercially as a cold weather protection item. It is large enough to fully cover the back. It is warm when covered with gauze and carried on the back. It is light and warm, so it is popular with the elderly.

[Yasu Fujimoto]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

くず繭を平面状に引き伸ばして綿のようにしたもの。製糸の原料とならない出殻(でがら)繭や玉繭などを、灰汁(あく)またはソーダを加えて煮沸、精練し、よく水洗いしたのち水中で一顆(か)ずつ手で広げ、四角になるように四か所に釘(くぎ)を打った框(かまち)の上に広げ、釘に端をひっかけて方形にし、数枚重ねて乾燥する。これを角真綿という。近年は自家用としている傾向にあり、市場では見られなくなった。今日は袋真綿といい、袋状になっているものが市場に出ている。これは、繭の中に手を入れて広げ、袋状につくり、数枚重ねて乾燥したものである。江戸時代には帽子型のような型に、繭を袋状にしてかぶせ、何枚も重ねてつくった。当時の小袖(こそで)には真綿が用いられ、その需要は大であった。真綿は弾力性は小さいが、引っ張りに強く、切れにくく、保温性に優れている。産地は福島県、長野県、滋賀県などである。

　真綿は木綿綿の進出によって、敷き真綿として木綿綿の綿入れの補強に用いられていたが、近年はふとん、丹前などには敷き真綿を用いなくなっている。真綿は充填(じゅうてん)材、補強用として用いられるだけではなく、織糸としても用いられる。すなわち、真綿を細く引き伸ばし、これに撚(よ)りをかけて経糸(たていと)、緯糸(よこいと)をつくり、染色し、織機にかけて織り、紬(つむぎ)織物をつくる。これの代表的なものは、伝統織物として重要無形文化財になっている結城(ゆうき)紬があげられる。近年、袋真綿の大きいものを背負い真綿とよび、防寒用として市販されている。これは背を十分に覆う大きさのものである。ガーゼをかぶせ、背に負うと暖かい。軽くて暖かいので老人に喜ばれる。

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