Shibori Symposium – Day 1 (Facebook Viewers – Go to my blog to see the videos) – I led a group of us on the train to Nagoya to see an utterly fantastic museum. Toyota originally was a loom making company. Old looms complete with guides/weavers to work them are there and it’s totally wonderful.
This old loom was run by peddling. It was great to have guides hanging around to run the various looms and explain how they work.
Mr Toyoda got the idea uto motorize a bicycle in 1930 which led him to make his first car in 1933. 1936 was when he made his first passenger car.
Here robots are seen at work. This was so fascinating.
Getting an old power loom going. Wait until it gets started and notice all the pulleys in the museum. Each one ran a loom. Notice too the metal things going up and down slightly behind the shafts. If a thread breaks it’s metal piece will fall down and break the connection and stop the loom. Now I understand why videos need editing! The stuff is truly interesting but making a video of it is hard to keep in mind where the camera is. Or to remember to stop the video.
Be patient a little then you will see how a modern power loom used forced air to move the weft across. The weft thread is red in the video. There are several air jets across the loom that continuously force the weft along. Again at lightening speed. Air is used for cotton weft threads and water for weaving with polyester. Interesting isn’t it?
This close up shows how a power loom today moves the weft between the warp threads by force of water. The display was set up so you could push a button to start the action. The water forces the thread through and the it is cut and the next thread is shot across the warlords. All st lightening speed.
Did you come home and then leave again? Your are so talented and spoiled! I’m glad you can learn all this wonderful art work and look forward to hearing from you again.
Very interesting about Mr. Toyota.
Hi Peggy, Thanks for sharing your experience from the amazing museum. I read that Mr. Toyoda gained reputation making silk looms that were super reliable and rarely had any issues if any. I visited an operational factory in Laguna Philippines that had Japanese jet type looms.
Their biggest problem was the lcd displays wearing out as eventually the fingers pressing on the screens caused them to be non operational. There was a small “graveyard” of looms in the corner that were slowly being parted out. They were considering a new upgrade/maintenance contract that would require technicians to come from Japan. I think they may not have been able to afford it. Best regards, Mike
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Oh. My. Gosh. I am without words. I need to be in your next entourage 🙂
Wow! I must visit this museum whenever I can manage to go back to Japan again! Truly amazing. I’m fascinated by all manner of antique and modern industrial weaving apparatuses. Fluid dynamics is truly incredible! Have to say though that the foot powered loom was my favorite of the videos. That cast iron flywheel is a visual and mechanical delight! 🙂 thanks for sharing Peggy!!
This was a great first post, thanks so much for doing this. I took an extra day on a tour with Yoshiko a few years ago and went here. What an amazing museum for textile history. So many amazing looms, the fiber processing machines, oh and the car robots all really, really wonderful to see. I look forward to all your posts and wish I could be there!
Thanks for sharing this, Peggy. If you’re ever in Seattle and get a chance to go to the Boeing factory you’ll see the same multiple pulley set up in the old section. One master drive shaft drove several different types of tools. Fascinating!