COTTON WEAVING INDUSTRY IN THE CHITA DISTRICT, AICHI PREFECTURE

Abstract

The writer analyzes the textile manufacturing area of the Chita district in Aichi Prefecture as to the two aspects ; the mechanism of a productive circulation (putting-out system) and a labour source of supply. These two aspects of the cotton weaving industry in Chita today is quite different from those at the beginning. Nevertheless the regional concentration of smaller factories has been continuing consistently. Around 1900, the putting out system based upon manual industry was at a low ebb because of the use of power loom. Although the production under the factory system was established, still merchants in Chita gained the mastery over these factories. But the regional concentration of weavers in Chita practically lost its significance, because most parts of a manufacturing process were done in a single workshop under the factory system. From about 1920, trading between cloth-producers in Chita and merchants in Nagoya became more frequent because of the rapid increase of both production and export of cotton fabric. Consequently, the influence of merchants in Chita over cloth-producers relatively decreased. At that time the typical give-out system, under which independence of cloth-producers was faint, began to collapse gradually in prodortion as cloth-producers became wealthier. After that, the Second World War lessened the power of merchants in Chita, which had been the center of textile manufacturing up to that time. Now cloth-producers in Chita are mainly working on commission from trading companies in Nagoya and cotton spinning companies. Merchants in Chita are too weak to be the center of regional concentration of smaller factories. The establishment of factory system deprived farmers of their side jobs and they naturally became factory labourers. In early 1900, the labourers were women from farm houses near the factories. After that, workers from remote districts gradually increased. But until the Second World War there existed a close relation between the weaving industry and the local labour market. Since 1951, workers from remote districts, in particular Kyushu, have rapidly increased, and at present constitute the majority among the workers of weaving factory in Chita. Since about 1965, the shortage of young workers has become conspicuous in industry as a whole, and young workers from Aichi Prefecture have decreased consistently in the Chita weaving industry. It is a main trend at present that large-scale factories employ young workers from remote districts and small-scale factories employ middle-aged or aged workers living in the neighbou-ring places. And young workers from the Chita district are now employed not in weaving industry but in commerce and other industries in Chita, Nagoya and their neighbouring cities. In this way, the weaving industry in Chita fall behind the commerce and other industries in possession of local young labourers. As a result of these facts, we can conclude as follows e 1) From the historical viewpoint, the foundation on which the weaving industry in Chita has stood has basically changed. 2) In the Chita textile manufacturing area, the cotton weaving industry is the chief industry in number, but it has not a strong connection with economy and society around there. 3) Characterestics above mentioned are caused by the following reason : The cotton weaving industry in Chita is a traditional industry that has developed factory system but has not de-veloped into a large enterprise.