A Three-Bay Sawtooth Factory in the Southeast Corner
The Morihide Textiles Factory (森秀織物工場, Morihide Orimono Kōjō) is a single-story timber weaving shed from around 1924 in the southeast corner of the Morihide Textiles site in Higashi, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 3, 2006.
Its roof is a sawtooth roof of three bays clad in sheet metal. The national record gives 9 meters by 25 meters and a building area of 208 square meters. It stands at the southern end of the long, narrow site, east of the Morishima family garden, and it is where the 1920s works began.
Its registration number, 10-0172, is the first of the fifteen Morihide numbers. Apart from the five Morishima Family Residence buildings, the Morihide Textiles Factory is the only one of the fifteen whose registered name does not begin with "Former."
Why the Morihide Textiles Factory Was Registered
The Morihide Textiles Factory was registered under the criterion for buildings that contribute to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs credits it with keeping its sawtooth roof and so forming part of the scenery of Kiryu's textile mills.
A sawtooth roof lines up pitched roofs like the teeth of a saw, with windows in each steep face. Weaving sheds usually turned those windows north, so that steady light with little change through the day fell on the looms, which helped weavers spot flaws and color differences. Kiryu still has many such roofs, and they are a signature of the town.
The roof frame is a timber truss. The original mortar finish survives on the south wall, while the other walls have been reclad in sheet metal. In 2023 Kiryu City named the Morishima Family Residence and the Morihide Textiles Factory together as a building contributing to the city's historic character under its historic townscape plan.
What to Look For
Look first at the roofline: three peaks at the same pitch, with windows along each steep face. It is a generation older than the sawtooth roof of the Former Factory and shows the works as they were when Morihide set up on its own in the mid-1920s.
Then compare the walls. The mortar on the south side is the 1920s finish; the sheet-metal walls elsewhere record decades of repairs to a building in daily use.
Morihide specialized in omeshi, a crepe silk for which Kiryu is known. In 1962, by one account, about 100 of its 137 employees were weavers, and the Morihide Textiles Factory was one of the places their looms stood.
Visiting the Morihide Textiles Factory
The Morihide Textiles Factory is not among the buildings opened as the Orimono Sankokan Yukari museum, and no information confirms that visitors may enter it. Ask the museum before you go if you hope to see inside.
The museum entrance is on the north side of the site, and a path runs south from it between the factory buildings. The south edge of the site faces the old road, where the gate and fence of the Morishima Family Residence stand. Keep photographs to the areas open to visitors.
Q&A
- When was the Morihide Textiles Factory built and registered?
- It was built around 1924 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 3, 2006, under registration number 10-0172.
- What is the sawtooth roof of the Morihide Textiles Factory?
- It is a row of pitched roofs shaped like saw teeth, with windows in each steep face. This factory has three bays roofed in sheet metal.
- How large is the Morihide Textiles Factory?
- The national record gives a single-story timber building of 9 meters by 25 meters, with a building area of 208 square meters.
- Can I go inside the Morihide Textiles Factory?
- It is not part of the Orimono Sankokan Yukari museum, and no information confirms public access to the interior. Please ask the museum if you wish to visit.
- Where is the Morihide Textiles Factory on the Morihide site?
- It stands in the southeast corner of the long site, east of the Morishima family garden. The Former Site Office (Warp Warping Room) adjoins it to the north.
Basic Information
| Name | Morihide Textiles Factory (森秀織物工場) |
|---|---|
| Location | 4-2-24 Higashi, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Building) |
| Year Designated | 2006 (registered) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Single-story timber, sheet-metal roof, building area 208 m², 9 m × 25 m |
| Owner | Morihide Orimono Co., Ltd. |
| Public Access | Interior access not confirmed (not part of the Orimono Sankokan Yukari museum) |
References
- Database of National Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs): Morihide Textiles Factory
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/101/00005566
- Kiryu City: Morihide Textiles Factory (Japanese)
- https://www.city.kiryu.lg.jp/kankou/bunkazai/1010700/kunitouroku/1002000.html
- Kiryu City: Historic Character Building No. 14, Morishima Family Residence and Morihide Textiles Factory (Japanese, PDF)
- https://www.city.kiryu.lg.jp/_res/projects/default_project/_page_/001/018/437/14gou.pdf
Last verified: 2026.10.06
