Registered Tangible Cultural Properties · Gunma

Morihide Textiles Former Site Office (Warp Warping Room)

Morihide Textiles Former Site Office, the Office Beside the Looms

A c.1924 office beside the Morihide factory in Kiryu, later used for warping, with a truss roof, glazed doors and a former boiler lean-to. Registered 2006.

Designation Registered Tangible Cultural Properties

Location Gunma

The Site Office Beside the Factory

The Morihide Textiles Former Site Office (Warp Warping Room) (森秀織物旧現場事務所（経糸整経場）, Morihide Orimono Kyū Genba Jimusho) is a single-story timber building from around 1924, standing just north of the Morihide Textiles Factory in the southeast part 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.

The national record gives 9.5 meters by 8.5 meters and a building area of 83 square meters, under a gabled tile roof carried on a timber truss. The name in brackets, keito seikeijo, means a room for warping: setting out warp threads to the right count and length and winding them onto a beam. The building seems to have begun as the works office and later served for warping, though when the use changed is not recorded.

It is registration number 10-0173, and with the factory to its south it makes up the 1920s corner of the site.

Why the Former Site Office Was Registered

The Morihide Textiles Former Site Office was registered under the criterion for buildings that contribute to the historic landscape of the country. An office that ran the shop floor, placed right next to the looms, shows plainly how a Kiryu weaving business was organized.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes a lean-to on the east side that once housed a boiler. An office building with its own boiler room suggests it also oversaw the works' heat supply.

What to Look For

The walls are built with exposed posts, and part of the exterior is clad in sheet metal. Glass doors and windows open on the west and south, giving it the bright, watchful face of an office looking out on both the factory and the path.

Note the truss under the roof. It spans the room without many posts, which may be why the space could change from office to warping room. The east lean-to is what remains of the boiler room.

Visiting the Former Site Office

The Morihide Textiles Former Site Office (Warp Warping Room) 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 Site Office built and registered?: AIt was built around 1924 and registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property on August 3, 2006, under registration number 10-0173.

QWhat does "warp warping room" mean for the Morihide Textiles Former Site Office?: AWarping is the step of arranging warp threads to the right count and length and winding them onto a beam. The office building appears to have been used for this work later on.

QDid the Morihide Textiles Former Site Office have a boiler room?: AYes. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, a lean-to on the east side served as a boiler room.

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

QHow large is the Morihide Textiles Former Site Office?: AIt is a single-story timber building of 9.5 meters by 8.5 meters, 83 square meters in area, with a gabled tile roof on a truss frame.

Basic Information

Name	Morihide Textiles Former Site Office (Warp Warping Room) (森秀織物旧現場事務所（経糸整経場）)
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 83 m², 9.5 m × 8.5 m
Owner	Morihide Orimono Co., Ltd.
Public Access	Interior access not confirmed (not part of the Orimono Sankokan Yukari museum)