Japanese yarn is coming under the spotlight. Since the Industrial Revolution, the Japanese textile industry has led the world in the production of spun silk yarn, cotton yarn, and chemical fibre. However, emerging economies such as China and India have become leaders in manufacturing inexpensive products generated through mass production, and Japanese yarn may be perceived to have no opportunity to make its name in the world. Nevertheless, the commitment that the Japanese have toward artisanal skills, their sensitivity and functions that are able to meet the needs for even higher added value, as well as the fusion with advanced technology, have successively produced new types of noteworthy yarn.
Using paper, which is lightweight and has excellent moisture-absorbing property, for clothing
Bingo-Nenshi Co., Ltd., Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture
Washi (Japanese paper) yarn Binwa
Bingo-Nenshi Co., Ltd.
In 2004, Bingo-Nenshi Co., Ltd. developed a type of yarn using the unique Japanese paper known as washi, and the adoption of this yarn for fashion applications has expanded rapidly in the past two years. Harnessing the lightweight properties as well as moisture and water-absorbing characteristics unique to washi, the company has created the perfect yarn for apparel through the yarn twisting skills that it has developed over many long years in the industry.
Washi is an ancient type of paper originating in Japan. The traditional manufacturing techniques have been passed down across various parts of Japan, and were also registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Asset in 2014. Even today, Washi is used for various purposes including document records, paper currency, and interior furnishings for the home. However, it has rarely been used for clothing in recent years.
Binwa, developed by Bingo-Nenshi, uses a machine-made washi jointly developed with manufacturers in Ehime Prefecture.
The paper, cut into strips of tape with widths ranging from 1 to 4 mm are twisted and aligned, then subjected to hard twisting to strengthen the yarn. Delicate processes are carried out; for example, twisting is carried out at low speed that is about half the usual speed, and heat is applied though specialist machinery in order to prevent the yarn from crimping.
The company has also developed a co-twisted yarn that interweaves 100% washi with washi/polyester. The yarns produced, which are easy to handle on looms and knitting machines, have been highly rated by textile manufacturers, and praised for their excellent texture. With a focus on circular knitting applications, Bingo-Nenshi has been approached successively by influential sporting brands and casualwear brands, and is enjoying brisk sales for its yarn products.
Realisation of a silk that can be used for everyday wear
Suncorona Oda Group, Osaka City
Silk polyester Mistron
Suncorona Oda Group
Suncorona Oda Group is engaged in yarn processing as well as the production and sale of clothing and interior textiles. It has developed an original yarn known as “Mistron,” which is the embodiment of silk for everyday wear. Since 2016, the company has been presenting textiles made from Mistron, and which are highly tasteful and easy to care for, at Première Vision, and there is growing interest and an increasing number of inquiries from French and Italian companies.
With its unique woolly, separated single-filament yarn, Suncorona Oda Group commands 80% of the global market share in the areas of premium thin curtain cloth and organdie for bridal wear. It is also engaged in the business of producing curtain products and organdie material all the way to the sewing process. This has led to the development of Mistron as a new product that embodies the fusion with the Group’s knowhow.
Mistron is a polyester false twist, separated single-filament yarn produced through the company’s yarn processing technology. By putting the yarn through the woven fabric and dyeing finishing processes, the yarn is transformed into high-multifilament split yarn.
Its special cross-sectional shape gives the yarn an elegant silk-like lustre. Moreover, it does not wrinkle easily, can be washed at home, and can be subjected to pleats processing. These are excellent properties that silk does not possess.
At the Hokuriku region where production is based, Mistron textiles developed in collaboration with manufacturers in the areas of yarn processing, fabric weaving, and dyeing processing, will continue to strengthen their appeal to Europe and other parts of the world.
Reviving extinct production techniques in Japan
Nakagawa Silk Co., Ltd. Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture
Spun silk yarn produced in Japan
Nakagawa Silk Co., Ltd.
Nakagawa Silk Co., Ltd. has revived and commenced production of spun silk yarn, which had previously become completely extinct in Japan. The company has even rebuilt the production facilities itself, establishing the technology needed to manufacture spun silk yarn.
Typically, the mainstream in silk yarn production is to use long fibres of raw silk thread. Apart from this, there is also spun silk yarn that is spun from the byproducts generated during the production of raw silk thread. In addition, there is also a type of ancient Japanese yarn known as “tsumugi” yarn, produced by spinning spoiled cocoon or floss silk by hand or using pedal-operated machines.
Nakagawa Silk was established in 1942 to produce spun silk yarn. However, it withdrew from the spun silk yarn market in the 1970s due to pressure from inexpensive foreign imports. Thereafter, it succeeded in the machine production of tsumugi yarn, and has continued in the specialised production of special yarns with excellent design characteristics till the present day. These products are used by brands from Europe and other parts of the world.
In Japan, manufacturers engaged in the production of spun silk yarn withdrew from the industry in 2003, and there were no more makers in this line thereafter. Spun silk yarn possesses the lustre that is unique to silk, while also boasting properties such as voluminous and bulky yarn resulting from the spinning process. These characteristics make it perfect for Western-style apparel. In response to growing needs for domestic products to replace foreign products with unstable quality, Nakagawa Silk took up the challenge of reviving spun silk yarn.
The young staff of the company were the ones championing this project. Based on the company’s commitment to technological capabilities and its accumulated techniques and experience, the employees worked independently on this project to revive spun silk yarn, staying overnight when visiting factories to purchase used machinery, and even taking apart and assembling the machinery themselves.
As demand is still growing globally and there is potential in this market, going forward, the company will continue to promote the appeal of Japanese silk overseas.
Expanding scope of applications including denim and knitwear
Oji Fiber Co., Ltd., Tokyo
OJO+, a paper yarn made from hemp
Oji Fiber Co., Ltd.
Oji Fiber Co., Ltd., which is a subsidiary of Daiwabo Holdings Co., Ltd., produces and sells a paper yarn known as “OJO+.” This plant-based yarn is made from paper originating from Manila hemp. In 2002, the company established OJO+ as a new business, and has steadily expanded the market for this yarn since.
In addition to the moisture-absorbing and releasing properties as well as antibacterial and deodorising function of paper yarn, it also boasts the high water-resistance, alkali-resistance, and acid-resistance properties of Manila hemp. For these reasons, it can be subjected to a wide range of post-processing that includes dyeing processing and the creation of composite yarns in combination with various fibres.
OJO+ is also made using unique production methods. As the process involves slitting thin paper with a stable quality, the company has developed its own slit machines and succeeded in creating ultra-fine slit yarn with a width of less than 1mm that would have been impossible to produce under normal conditions. This is then passed through a dedicated yarn twisting machine to produce an original paper yarn.
The company has continued to develop and improve its techniques, including trying to create a softer finish. The range of applications is wide, covering products such as denim, knitted products, canvas, and socks. The denim is produced using the composite yarns of OJO+ as the weft yarn and cotton as the warp yarn. It distinguishes itself from conventional denim through properties that are unique to paper yarn, such as its lightness, stretch, and flexibility. For canvas, Oji Fiber has also developed a thick-count yarn that combines 50% each of cotton and OJO+. There are also growing practical uses for mixed weaves with nylon and other types of materials.
The company has acquired the Oeko-Tex certification, and is strengthening efforts to promote the product overseas as an environmentally friendly material.
Adding various functions and sensibility
Izumi Industries Co., Ltd. Joyo City, Kyoto
Lamé yarn
Izumi Industries Co., Ltd.
Izumi Industries Co., Ltd., a lamé yarn manufacturer, continues to develop new lamé yarns based on the perspectives of functionality, sensibility, and practical application, with a careful focus on the needs of a diverse range of users.
Japanese lamé yarn had its origins in the production of decorative gold and silver yarn used in Japanese clothing, and developed through fusion with lamé yarn that had come from Europe. This has led to the formation of a lamé yarn production region in Joyo City in the suburbs of Kyoto, which is widely renowned for its kimono production.
Izumi Industries has established a strong foothold in this major production region. Wielding its development capabilities as its strength, the company has grasped the needs of users through direct interaction with them and applied this knowledge to its development, resulting in the creation of unique products. It is also working on projects to develop new products with unbounded sensibility and expressiveness, and has applied these in areas such as knit, woven fabric, and embroidery/sewing.
Retroreflective lamé yarn is often used as a design element and in the production of high-visibility clothing. With rayon as the core material, the company has developed a covering yarn for the retroreflective flat yarn. Conventional retroreflective yarn had only come in the form of flat yarn, which was difficult to use for woven fabric and embroidery. Transforming it into a round thread through this process has hence enhanced its usability. The company has proposed applications such as weft yarn for woven fabric and bobbin thread for embroidery.
Conductive stretch lamé yarn has polyurethane as the core material, and was developed by winding a conductive lamé sheet. This makes it possible to grant antistatic properties to textiles, and the range of applications is expanding beyond clothing to materials and other fields.
In addition to these, the company has also developed other products, such as a moisture-absorbing and releasing lightweight yarn made by covering Japanese paper yarn with lamé yarn, and an indigo-dyed product made by attaching fluffy rayon to cotton covered with a film surface.
Preparations underway for mass production
Spiber Inc., Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture
Manmade spider thread, Qmonos
Spiber Inc.
A venture corporation established in 2007, Spiber Inc. has taken up the challenge of creating a manmade spider thread, said to be the toughest yarn in the world. The company has established a technique for producing this thread by using a protein that is the same as that found in spider threads. Preparations are now underway for the industrial production of this product, named “Qmonos.”
Manmade spider thread is made by fermenting plant starch, while introducing genes that produce spider threads into the microorganisms used in the fermentation process. There is a very wide range of threads that come under the classification of spider thread, and the key point is to produce a thread that can serve industrial purposes while minimising cost, and not merely recreating the natural substance.
Spiber Inc.
Overcoming the hurdle of cost is of particular importance for industrial production. Most recently, the company has improved productivity by 4,500 times as compared to 2008, while reducing production cost to 1/50300. It is increasingly likely that it will be able to reduce the production cost to below US$100 per kg.
In the apparel sector, the company has received substantial funding through a tie-up with Goldwin Inc, a leading sportswear manufacturer that holds the trademark rights for The North Face in Japan and Korea. It has already created a prototype of an outer down jacket named “Moon Parka,” and preparations are underway to launch the product for actual sale.