The Textile Guild Hall of Kiryu
The Kiryu Textile Hall Former Building (Kiryu Textile Memorial Museum) (桐生織物会館旧館) is a two-storey timber Western-style building at Eiraku-cho, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture, built in 1934 as the office of the Kiryu Textile Trade Association, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on May 7, 1997. It is now open as the Kiryu Textile Memorial Museum (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Kiryu City).
The Agency for Cultural Affairs records two storeys of timber with a tiled roof and a building area of 833 square metres, registration number 10-0006, owned by the Kiryu Textile Hall Foundation. It is also a component of the Japan Heritage story "Kaka-denka: Gunma's Silk Story" (Japan Heritage Portal).
Office of the Weaving City
Kiryu City records that it was designed by the building section of the Gunma Prefecture Civil Engineering Division and built by Ogawa-gumi. The Japan Heritage Portal notes that the trade association was formed to improve Kiryu textiles, and that women once worked here as telephone operators and typists.
The museum describes Kiryu weaving as a traditional craft with 1,300 years of history, and the Kiryu Textile Hall Former Building (Kiryu Textile Memorial Museum) as a symbol of the prosperity of the "weaving capital".
Value as a Registered Cultural Property
The Kiryu Textile Hall Former Building (Kiryu Textile Memorial Museum) was registered as a building that has become a model of design. The Agency for Cultural Affairs describes it, with its orderly windows, as a fine example of an office for production management of the Showa era.
What to Look For
The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes walls faced with scratch tiles and a roof of quiet green tiles, giving it a Western look. The Japan Heritage Portal adds its modern exterior with stained glass.
Kiryu City records that the ground floor of the Kiryu Textile Hall Former Building (Kiryu Textile Memorial Museum) is a Kiryu textile shop and the upper floor a textile exhibition room.
Visiting
According to Kiryu City, admission is free; the ground-floor shop is open from 10:00 to 17:00 and the upstairs exhibition room from 10:00 to 16:00. It closes August 13 to 16 and December 29 to January 3, and the shop also on the last Saturday and following Sunday of each month. There is parking for 17 cars.
The Kiryu Textile Hall Former Building (Kiryu Textile Memorial Museum) is about 5 minutes on foot from the north exit of JR Kiryu Station on the Ryomo Line and about 4 minutes from Nishi-Kiryu Station on the Jomo Line (Kiryu Textile Memorial Museum). Telephone 0277-43-2510 (exhibition room).
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Gunma
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Kiryu Textile Hall Former Building (Kiryu Textile Memorial Museum)
- [ Kusatsu Onsen & Tomioka Silk Mill Heritage Tours ]
Q&A
- When was it built?
- In 1934 (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Kiryu City).
- What was it originally?
- The office of the Kiryu Textile Trade Association (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan Heritage Portal).
- What does it look like?
- Scratch-tiled walls, green roof tiles and stained glass in a Western style (Agency for Cultural Affairs, Japan Heritage Portal).
- Can visitors go inside?
- Yes, it is open free as the Kiryu Textile Memorial Museum, with an exhibition room and a shop (Kiryu City).
- When was the Kiryu Textile Hall Former Building (Kiryu Textile Memorial Museum) registered?
- On May 7, 1997.
Basic Information
| Name | Kiryu Textile Hall Former Building (Kiryu Textile Memorial Museum) (桐生織物会館旧館) |
|---|---|
| Location | 5-1 Eiraku-cho, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture (1184-4 Eiraku-cho at registration) |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 1997/05/07 (Heisei 9) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Timber, 2 storeys, tiled roof, building area 833 square metres |
| Owner | Kiryu Textile Hall Foundation |
| Public Access | Open as the Kiryu Textile Memorial Museum; free admission |
References
- Kiryu Textile Hall Former Building (Kiryu Textile Memorial Museum) (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00000123
- Kiryu Textile Hall Former Building (Kiryu City)
- https://www.city.kiryu.lg.jp/kankou/bunkazai/1010700/kunitouroku/1001995.html
- Kiryu Textile Memorial Museum (official website)
- https://kiryuorimonokinenkan.com/
- Access (Kiryu Textile Memorial Museum)
- https://kiryuorimonokinenkan.com/access/
- Kiryu Textile Hall Former Building (Japan Heritage Portal)
- https://japan-heritage.bunka.go.jp/ja/culturalproperties/result/258/
Last verified: 2026.10.11