engineering

Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm

Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm rather than just read about it. In short: The Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm (旧田島弥平旧宅, Tajima Yahei kyū-taku) is located in the Sakaishima neighbored of the city of Isesaki, Gunma. It was the former home of an influential silk farmer in the early Meiji period, known for writing a new sericulture theory which laid the foundations for modern sericultural production.

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

The Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm (旧田島弥平旧宅, Tajima Yahei kyū-taku) is located in the Sakaishima neighbored of the city of Isesaki, Gunma. It was the former home of an influential silk farmer in the early Meiji period, known for writing a new sericulture theory which laid the foundations for modern sericultural production. The building has been protected as a National Historic Site since 2012. It was subsequently included as part of The Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Industrial Heritage UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013.

History Tajima Yahei (1822-1898) is known for having published the “New Theories on Sericulture” (『養蚕新論』) in 1872 and the “Additional New Theories on Sericulture” (『続養蚕新論』) in 1879. During the Bakumatsu period, he experimented with raising silkworms using natural ventilation, but gradually turned towards artificial temperature control. Initially unable to achieve satisfactory results, he experimented by trial-and-error, developing a breeding technique combining these methods, which he called Seiryō-iku (清涼育) . In order to put his new method into practice, he converted his barn into a silkworm farm on two levels. After a first harvest, he took note of his mistakes and installed windows in the roof (Yagura) the following year to allow better ventilation inside. Observing better results, he further improved air circulation by installing a third stage. In his main residence, he had a single raised roof built over the entire length of the building, which was completed in 1863. The following year, the Tokugawa shogunate lifted the ban on export of raw silk, and the number of producers in Kōzuke Province increased greatly. Many adopted the same architectural style as Tajima Yahei for their farms. Following the Meiji restoration, the new Meiji government targeted silk production as a major export industry for obtaining the foreign capital critically needed to fund Japan's industrialization. During an inspection of the silk-producing regions in 1869, the Italian minister plenipotentiary stationed in Japan, Conte Vittorio Sallier De La Tour and the secretary of the ambassador of the United Kingdom in Japan, Francis Ottiwell Adams, both praised Tajima's methods and the quality of the silk produced. Tajima's method was widely disseminated throughout Japan. Although towards the middle of the Meiji period his method was superseded by the Seion-iku (清温育) method of Takayama Chōgorō, (which also controlled humidity), the characteristic yagura style of Tajima's silkworm farm design was not abandoned. The main residence of the Tajima Yahei is preserved in its state of 1863. The building has two stories and a tile roof. It is the first Japanese silkworm farm to be equipped with a raised roof over the entire length of the building. This type of raised roof is pierced with openings, promoting good air circulation, and which was an essential part of the Seiryō-iku method. It was the model for the silk farms built in 1875 in the Matsugaoka Land Reclamation Area. In 1952, part of the main residence was removed, but the landscape is believed to have remained unchanged since that date. The mulberry leaf warehouse built in 1896 also remains. A historiographical study was carried out between 1986 and 1988, and in 2006 Gunma Prefecture and the city of Tomioka submitted the site as part of its application for World Heritage status to UNESCO. In the final dossier submitted in January 2013, it was one of the four associated sites with the Tomioka Silk Mill awarded World Heritage status.

See also List of Historic Sites of Japan (Gunma) World Heritage Sites in Japan Sericulture

References

External links

Isesaki City home page (in Japanese) Gunma Prefecture site dedicated to the listing Proposal document Pamphlet

Illustrations

Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm illustration

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm

In research: Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1863 establishments in Japan, Buildings and structures completed in 1863, Historic Sites of Japan, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm in simple terms?

Why does Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tajima Yahei Sericulture Farm.