In New York, USA, a valuable color video of the manufacturing process of Oshima Tsumugi, a textile that was a major local industry, was found in Amami Oshima in Kagoshima Prefecture, which was ruled by the U.S. military after the war. Experts have evaluated that "the manufacturing process of Oshima Tsumugi, which supported the economy of the island, is left in a video, and it has a decisive rarity value."
This time, what was discovered was a video taken by Douglas Halling, a cultural anthropologist who stayed on Amami Oshima from 1951, when it was under the rule of the US military, to 52, the year before the return to Japan.
It begins with the title "The Forgotten Island of Amami Oshima" and has a total of more than 30 minutes.
In addition to the black-and-white footage, it is also shot in color, which was rare at the time, and the production process of Oshima Tsumugi, which was a major local industry, is recorded step by step.
This video was discovered by Kagoshima University and others at a university in New York State, USA, where Mr. Halling was enrolled.
The video shows a process called "mud dyeing," in which silk threads are dyed with mud, washing off the mud in a river, and winding up the dyed threads.
In addition, the work of using a loom to finish the cloth according to the design is also recorded.
Professor Izumi Haraguchi of Shigakukan University, who is familiar with the modern history of Amami, said, "Oshima Tsumugi was the pride of the people of Amami and supported the economy. Japan Now, 70 years after his return, the presence of video is of definitive rarity."