Registered Tangible Cultural Properties · Gunma

Morihide Textiles Former Dormitory No. 1 (Processing Workshop)

Morihide Textiles Former Dormitory No. 1, Weavers' Quarters

A c.1924 dormitory for weavers at the Morihide works in Kiryu: an irimoya-roofed block with two ten-mat rooms and a gabled porch, later a processing workshop.

Designation Registered Tangible Cultural Properties

Location Gunma

A Live-In Dormitory on the Factory Site

The Morihide Textiles Former Dormitory No. 1 (Processing Workshop) (森秀織物旧寄宿舎一（製品加工場）, Morihide Orimono Kyū Kishukusha Ichi) is a single-story timber dormitory from around 1924, standing on the east side of the Morihide Textiles site in Higashi, Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture, just north of the Former Shed, and it was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 3, 2006.

The national record gives 4.5 by 3.5 bays (ken) and a building area of 57 square meters. It has a hip-and-gable irimoya tile roof, with a small gabled entrance porch at the southwest corner. The bracketed "Processing Workshop" seems to describe a later use, once it no longer housed workers.

Morihide kept dormitories for weavers who lived on site. By one account, about 100 of the firm's 137 employees in 1962 were women weavers, and this is one of the few buildings left from that part of their lives. It is registration number 10-0175.

Why the Former Dormitory No. 1 Was Registered

The Morihide Textiles Former Dormitory No. 1 was registered under the criterion for buildings that contribute to the historic landscape of the country. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that it shows what living quarters within a factory compound looked like.

Among workshops with sawtooth and broad gabled roofs, this small building with its irimoya roof and gabled porch reads at once as a home. Its exterior alone tells you that work and sleep shared the same Kiryu weaving compound.

What to Look For

The plan is simple. Two ten-mat rooms sit side by side from east to west, with closets on the west. The Agency notes that the south and west sides were once corridors, so residents reached both rooms from a passage in the manner of a boarding house.

From outside, look for the porch at the southwest corner: a small gabled roof set against the larger irimoya roof, on the sides where the corridors used to run.

Visiting the Former Dormitory No. 1

The Morihide Textiles Former Dormitory No. 1 (Processing Workshop) is not among the buildings opened as the Orimono Sankokan Yukari museum, and no information confirms that visitors may enter it. Ask the museum if you wish to see it, and keep photographs to the areas open to visitors.

Q&A

QWhen was the Morihide Textiles Former Dormitory No. 1 built and registered?: AIt was built around 1924 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 3, 2006, under registration number 10-0175.

QWho lived in the Morihide Textiles Former Dormitory No. 1?: AIt housed workers at the Morihide weaving works. By one account, about 100 of the 137 employees in 1962 were women weavers.

QWhat is the layout of the Morihide Textiles Former Dormitory No. 1?: ATwo ten-mat rooms run east to west, with closets on the west. The south and west sides were once corridors.

QWhat does "Processing Workshop" mean for the Morihide Textiles Former Dormitory No. 1?: AIt appears to record a later use as a workshop for finishing products after the building stopped serving as a dormitory. When the change happened is not recorded.

QCan I go inside the Morihide Textiles Former Dormitory No. 1?: AIt is not part of the Orimono Sankokan Yukari museum, and no information confirms public access to the interior.

Basic Information

Name	Morihide Textiles Former Dormitory No. 1 (Processing Workshop) (森秀織物旧寄宿舎一（製品加工場）)
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, tile roof, building area 57 m², 4.5 × 3.5 ken
Owner	Morihide Orimono Co., Ltd.
Public Access	Interior access not confirmed (not part of the Orimono Sankokan Yukari museum)