ブックタイトルSuminoe Textile　CORPORATE PROFILE 2018-2019

概要

Suminoe Textile　CORPORATE PROFILE 2018-2019

ArchiveSuminoe Textile has contributed to society as an interior manufacturer,in response to major trends of the times.Suminoe Textile was founded in 1883, when our founder opened a factory in Sumiyoshi Village of Osaka Prefecture(now Sumiyoshi Ward of Osaka City). Our Company succeeded in manufacturing a carpet in 1890, and thenhand-woven moquette as a seat covering for railway cars in 1896; both of these products were the first of their kindin Japan. As a pioneering manufacturer in the Japanese interiors industry, we have greatly contributed to themodernization of lifestyles as well as the development of interior furnishings for automobiles and railway trains.We hereby present a brief history of Suminoe Textile, which has courageously taken on various challengesas a trailblazer in the industry for more than 135 years since its founding, while overcoming many difficulties.FounderDenshichi MurataMeiji Period 1883~ Contribution to Japan’s modernizationIn the Meiji Era (1868?1912), Western culture was introduced to Japan in the context of civilization and enlightenment. The forerunner to our Companydelivered its interior materials to the Imperial Diet Building (now the Diet Building) and other leading Western-style buildings in Japan, as well as totrains for railways, which were developed in line with the national policy. In so doing, we contributed to Japan’s modernization.Imperial Diet BuildingIn 1891, we supplied the carpets for the Imperial Diet Building on the occasion of its opening.For the present-day Diet Building, we continue to supply the“red carpet”and seat coveringsused in the chambers of both the House of Councillors and the House of Representatives.TramsTrams, which began to run in Kyoto in 1895, became widely introduced in various parts of Japanas a means of transportation for the general public. Our Company designed seat coveringsfeaturing city emblems for a number of these tram systems. Later it became a popular trend toincorporate city emblems in seat cover designs for city trams nationwide.Kyoto City TramsImperial Diet Building (courtesy of the National Diet Library)Carpets supplied to theImperial Diet Building onthe occasion of its openingOsaka City tram running on the Naniwa-bashi Bridge(courtesy of the National Diet Library)Osaka City TramsJapan National RailwaysIn 1896, we succeeded in producing hand-woven moquetteas a seat covering for the first time in Japan. This domesticmoquette was adopted by Japan National Railways for its seatcoverings in 1899.Construction of Sumiyoshi FactorySeat coverings adopted byJapan National Railways at that timeIn 1903, the Sumiyoshi Factory was built, which functioned asthe main factory of Suminoe Textile for many years.Taisho Period 1912~Establishment ofSuminoe TextileJoint-Stock CompanySuminoe Textile Joint-StockCompany was established in1913, marking the first step in the100-year history of SuminoeTextile as a corporate body.Imperial TheatreIn 1915, the Companydelivered seatcoverings to theImperial Theatre.Suminoe Textile’s seatcoverings were alsoadopted when theImperial Theatreunderwent extensiverenovation in 1966.VesselsThe stage of the Imperial Theatre(courtesy of the NationalDiet Library)Seat covering forthe Imperial TheatreIn the Taisho Era (1912?1926), Suminoe Textile supplied carpets for the first class cabins ofliners operated by Osaka Shosen Kaisha (now Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd.). In the Showa Era(1926?1989), our Company’s products were adopted by many of Japan’s renowned vessels.13Carpet in the first classcabin of an Osaka ShosenKaisha shipCarpet for the captain’s cabin in the Battleship Yamato