Japan’s only cotton spinning mill

Unitika Textiles Co., Ltd.’s Tokiwa Mill has made continuous efforts to improve its techniques as a domestic cotton spinning mill, and as a result it can now produce yarn that would be impossible to create at other foreign or domestic mills. A particular strength of the mill is its ultra-fine cotton yarn. From this fall onward, Maker’s Shirt Kamakura will use the unique yarns of Unitika Textiles, such as a 400-thread-count, 4-ply cotton yarn, to create dress shirts manufactured entirely in Japan. Unitika Textiles President Kiyoshi Yamagami commented, “We hope to take this opportunity to increase recognition of Tokiwa as a place where fine yarn is made.”

Unitika Textiles President Kiyoshi Yamagami (left) and Naoki Yokota, Mill General Manager at the Tokiwa Mill

Unitika Textiles currently manufacturers synthetic fibres, films, and other materials, but during the 1960s, the company operated cotton spinning facilities capable of handling close to 600,000 spindles across Japan, in Kaizuka (Osaka), Sekigahara (Gifu), Takada (Nara), Toyohashi (Aichi), Odaka (Aichi), and Tokyo. This is equivalent to twice the capacity held currently by the 15-member companies of the Japan Spinners’ Association.

During the 1960s, Japanese textiles were used for a variety of purposes, including for dress shirts and pants, by companies both within Japan and overseas. Yarn sales flourished for a time, until exchange rate re-evaluations and increased competition from overseas manufacturers eventually pushed Japanese yarn manufacturers toward a restructuring of their businesses and forced the shrinking of the domestic cotton spinning market. Unitika Textiles’ own cotton spinning operations met a similar fate. Currently, the company only operates a single domestic cotton spinning mill in Tokiwa.

That said, the Tokiwa Mill has inherited the complete knowledge of cotton spinning accumulated by Unitika Textiles throughout the years. The mill continues to thrive as one of the few bastions of cotton spinning competitiveness within developed markets. One reason for that is its ultra-fine yarns. The production of these yarns was once a specialty of Unitika Textiles’ Kaizuka Mill. The Tokiwa Mill has inherited not just the machinery of that mill, but its personnel as well.

Making shirts out of fabric typically used for luxury down futons

A typical use for ultra-fine threads is luxury down futons. These fine threads are elaborately woven into cotton textiles for use in the covers of futons. They help to prevent feathers from escaping from the futon, while also giving futons a texture that feels wonderful to touch, as people would expect from a luxury down futon. Unitika Textiles also uses the fabric for its Mai Hou Ou brand of luxury handkerchiefs.

A typical use for ultra-fine threads is luxury down futons.

Unitika Textiles approached Maker’s Shirt Kamakura about using its techniques to create a fine-count textile for shirts, and Maker’s Shirt Kamakura was happy to agree to the proposal. From this fall, Maker’s Shirt Kamakura will make use of the techniques of one of the few Japanese cotton spinning mills to produce fine dress shirts.

Among the textiles to be used, the most luxurious will be created from 400-thread-count, 4-ply yarn. Unitika Textiles is currently waiting on the approval of a patent for this spinning twist yarn created by spinning together roved threads while simultaneously twisting them. Making extremely fine, 400-thread-count roved yarn is a difficult task in itself. Yet Unitika Textiles goes one step further and plies the thread four times, resulting in a 100-thread-count spun yarn.

Material selection is very important for the creation of ultra-fine thread. For the new yarn, Unitika Textiles will use an ultra-long cotton, Suvin Gold, a hybrid cotton that is a cross between sea island cotton and Indian cotton. Suvin Gold is known for its high-quality shine and good texture.

For its collaborative development with Maker’s Shirt Kamakura, Unitika Textiles has assembled a team featuring both novice and experienced workers. Mr. Naoki Yokota, Mill General Manager at the Tokiwa Mill, commented, “Sense and imagination are very important for the development of spun yarn. This project has also helped us to foster young workers.”

The Tokiwa Mill will continue to improve its techniques as Unitika Textiles’ main mill, working to create a wide variety of materials, including not only ultra-fine cotton yarn, but also wool, silk, lyocell, and synthetic fibre.