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Their Home Is Their Workshop

By “Awake!” correspondent in Japan

AS A missionary, I have enjoyed getting acquainted with the people in Japan and their way of life. Regularly I visit their homes to share with them the good news found in the Bible, but they, too, have shared interesting things with me. Especially have I found it fascinating to learn about their “cottage industries.”

Join me in meeting some of these people and listen as they explain what they do.

A Family Affair

Here’s a home where I met a young man who works with his family to make washi. Do you say that you never heard of it? Well, he explained it like this: “Washi is sometimes called ‘rice paper,’ although it has nothing to do with rice.”

How is it made? “Our work begins with the paper mulberry tree,” he said. “We treat the fibers from the inner bark and clean them thoroughly. Then a slimy liquid from the root of the hibiscus is added. The long fibers of the paper mulberry tree and the liquid from the hibiscus distinguish washi from other papers. The slimy substance ensures an even distribution of the fibers. It is a thrill to see the finished product. Just look at these beautiful designs that have been painted onto our paper. Appreciation for our work extends as far as West Germany and America.”

When I asked how they got started in the business, he explained: “Sixty years ago my great-grandfather, a schoolteacher, became sick. Unable to continue his regular employment, he considered work that he could do at home. For over a thousand years here in the town of Ogawa the major cottage industry has been the making of washi. My great-grandfather learned the art and began making it in our house. We still do it. I work with my parents, two uncles and aunts.”

What he told me about hours of work made me wonder how he personally felt about the family business. But he assured me: “I love what I do. That is why I do not mind working a twelve-hour day. I want the art of papermaking to be preserved. It is an exciting challenge. Other teen-agers say the same but they are not all prepared to do the work. Many think it is laborious. But if they tried it, they might find it interesting.”

Husbands and Wives Work Together

When visiting other homes, I have found that it is not unusual for a husband and wife to be at home working together. They prefer that over having the husband go to work and leave his wife at home alone.

A couple that had been in business together for twenty years explained their enterprise: “It was a friend of ours who suggested that we might like to make book covers. Actually, what we do is only one stage of the work. We have thirty-foot lengths of cloth delivered to our home and we stick paper onto the back of it. About thirty minutes are needed to complete one. We do it together. My husband, who is sixty-five years old, is not in good health, and I am sixty. We work at our own pace, and that suits us. We are very contented.”

Another husband and wife told me that they make bamboo lampshades. Providing details, the man said: “Working steadily, we can make five big shades in a week, each one weighing three kilos [6.6 pounds]. I begin by sawing bamboo poles into desired lengths; then I shave off the knots. Standing a length of bamboo on end, I split it down the center with a knife, and I keep on slicing until I get the desired thickness. Some strips are as thin and as pliable as string​—just right for weaving. Using a plastic disk with a small hole in the center, I begin weaving around the circumference. Gradually it comes to look like a huge woven wheel. To keep the bamboo pliable, I apply water. When it is the required size, I shape the wheel into a globe or dome. Finally it is coated with a mixture of glue and water to seal the shape. The work takes time, but we think it is worth it. We felt honored to have our lampshades hung throughout a restaurant at the world exposition in Canada.”

From a farmer and his wife I also learned things about the silk industry. He pointed to bushes in the field and asked: “Do you know what those bushes are? They are mulberry bushes, and any farmer who grows them will be doing the same as we do. Those bushes are the food of the silkworm. While the silkworm is still a baby we treat him like one, chopping up the tender leaves for him twice a day. Until they are twenty-five days old we pile the branches onto their trays for food. We do this in our home.”

“In your home?” I gasped. “Don’t wont try,” he said. “They don’t wander around like cats and dogs. The silkworm likes his food too much ever to leave the tray. When I was a boy, we had trays of silkworms piled high in every available space. The noise of their munching would lull us to sleep at night. I didn’t mind, but my wife has persuaded me to keep our sleeping quarters separate from the silkworms, haven’t you, dear?”

“That’s right,” she replied. “in those days we almost had to move out so the silkworms could move in. But our home is bigger now. As part of my work, I do the weaving. We have a hundred-year-old loom that just fits into a six-by-nine-foot room. If I work steadily for a day, I can complete one roll. Some folks who have not been doing it so long take two or three days to produce the same amount.”

Work for Women

In certain homes, I soon realized, it is the women who operate the business. When making calls one day in Morioka, I met a lady who volunteered this information: “We, too, are involved in a cottage industry, but ours is for females only. About forty years ago in Morioka, widows got together and began home spinning. There were a lot of sheep in Morioka. Spinning and weaving were an obvious choice. But since Morioka’s breed of sheep produced coarse wool, we began to import wool from Wales in the British Isles.”

At my request, she kindly explained the steps involved in producing cloth. “It is not difficult,” she said. “First, we sort the wool into three categories for women’s wear, for men’s wear and for carpetmaking. After the wool gets a good wash, we dye it. Remaining dirt is then picked out, and the wool is brushed. We twirl the fluffy pile through our fingers and guide the thread-to-be to the spinning wheel. By then we are nearly ready to weave, but first the thread has to be put into hot water for fifteen minutes and then be wound onto a reel. After the weaving is completed, we remove the bumps and rectify any bad spots. Then, with rubber boots on, we tread the cloth in water for an hour to an hour and a half. More dirt comes out. But now the cloth can be hung out to dry and then be rolled up in the form that you see in fabric shops.”

I was amazed to learn that all these steps were performed at home. The woman acknowledged that other work might yield more financially. But she explained: “in this way our time is our own, and our doing this work has meant that we can be at home with our children and work at the same time.”

Fathers and Sons in Business Together

It is not always the case, but many sons have taken up the work taught them by their fathers. For example, a certain man told me that he and his brother had been working with their father for forty years. They make scissors​—approximately five hundred pairs a month. These are for hospitals, for garden and for home use. I asked him how these differed from ones that are mass-produced, and he replied: “We take care in making every pair. The blades meet perfectly. Although they cost a little more, they will give good service for years.” Those are certainly qualities that are not to be despised.

A man who, with his sons, is in the printing business helped me to realize how specialized the cottage industries frequently are. “For making books,” he said, “several homes in my neighborhood have factories built into them. Just one stage of the operation is carried out in a home, and then the article is sent on to another home for the next stage, and so on until the book is completed. In our home we do nothing but print the pages.”

Similar specialization is found in the manufacturing of the classical Japanese ornamental dolls. A man in Iwatsuki showed me around his home shop, where they make just the heads for the dolls. He described how they put the eyes onto the casts, paint the face and stick on the hair. “It sounds simple,” he remarked, “but it takes ten years before you can produce perfect heads. The delicate painting of the faces takes time and a steady hand.”

In this home three generations work together. I was introduced to the eighty-one-year-old father, still doing his share of the work. His son shared the room with him. And in another room the son of my host did the same work, but caring for his own orders.

“When I was a boy,” the man reminisced, “it seemed the most natural thing in the world to follow in my father’s footsteps, and I was happy to do so. But education has led some of our children to look down on cottage industry. To them, wearing a smart suit, carrying a briefcase and riding a train to work is ‘the thing.’ The desire to be like other young people is strong. But I am pleased that my boy is continuing our cottage industry and so has become a true member of the family. With skilled work like ours, he can enjoy a comfortable living without having to work unreasonably long hours.”

It is obvious that there are advantages in the cottage industries. Some kinds require longer hours than others. But all offer the opportunity to set one’s own hours of work.

In taking you on this tour, I have touched only the surface. The variety of home workshops is almost unlimited. Each kind of thing that is made has its own fascinating story.

Cottage industry thrives when people are willing to work. At the same time it can contribute to a healthy spirit of unity in the family. Does it appeal to you?

[Picture on page 17]

‘After brushing the wool, we twirl the fluffy pile through our fingers and guide the thread-to-be to the spinning wheel’

[Picture on page 18]

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The wool is carefully divided into three sections and used as follows: (1) For women’s clothing. (2) For men’s clothing. (3) For carpets

[Picture on page 19]

The delicate painting of the dolls’ faces takes time and a steady hand