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>Made of several layers of quilted cotton fabric, using a process called the sashiko technique, and resist-dyed using the tsutsugaki method, these coats would b

by elhudy 7y ago

>Made of several layers of quilted cotton fabric, using a process called the sashiko technique, and resist-dyed using the tsutsugaki method, these coats would be worn plain-side out and thoroughly soaked in water before the firefighters entered the scene of the blaze. Very surprised that wool was not used (it is fire-resistant and wicks sweat). Was wool not available to Japan during this era?

nabla9 7y ago
It seems that Japanese did not have much experience with wool and sheep. Wool would be imported product. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_domestic_sheep#Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_domestic_sheep#...
- elhudy 7y ago
  That's fascinating - you would think they would have some sort of access to sheep, alpaca, goats, or something that could provide wool. I went down a bit of a rabbit hole and found Japan was still one of the largest importers of wool if not the largest) in the world until this paper was written in the late 1970's. Their wool has historically come from Australia. http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n2207/pdf/ch12.pdf http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n2207/pdf/ch12...
  - kevin_thibedeau 7y ago
    They never practiced any form of mass animal husbandry. Arable land for fodder would be at a premium for human consumption. Stripping the mountainsides are a danger in earthquake country.
    - elhudy 7y ago
      Found another really interesting paper on this idea that animal husbandry was never really practiced in Japan. ". 'As animals are not used for milk, draught, or food, and there are no pasture lands, both the country and the farm-yards have a singular silence and an inanimate look.'1 She missed the sounds: '...a mean looking dog and a few fowls being the only representatives of domestic animal life. I long for the lowing of cattle and the bleating of sheep.'2 There were also very few horses: 'there is little traffic, and very few horses are kept, one, two, or three constituting the live stock of a large village.'3 Horses were not used for ploughing, nor, even, were they used for carrying. 'Very few horses are kept here. Cows and coolies carry much of the merchandise, and women as well as men carry heavy loads.'4 So rare were domestic animals even in the later nineteenth century, that they were exhibited like exotic species: '...monkey theatres and dog theatres, two mangy sheep and a lean pig attracting wondering crowds, for neither of these animals is known in this region of Japan." http://www.alanmacfarlane.com/savage/A-ANIMAL.PDF http://www.alanmacfarlane.com/savage/A-ANIMAL.PDF
1e-9 7y ago
Perhaps it was due to the ability of cotton to absorb up to 27 times its weight in water. It seems like water-saturated cotton would provide significant evaporative cooling, which might outperform wool's protective properties for short periods of time.
- Baeocystin 7y ago
  You really, really don't want water on your clothes in a fire. The heat transmission via water/steam will bypass your layers of protective clothing like it wasn't even there, and you will get seriously burned. Source: used to work as a shipyard welder

by elhudy 7y ago

nabla9 7y ago

It seems that Japanese did not have much experience with wool and sheep. Wool would be imported product. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_domestic_sheep#Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_domestic_sheep#...

elhudy 7y ago
That's fascinating - you would think they would have some sort of access to sheep, alpaca, goats, or something that could provide wool. I went down a bit of a rabbit hole and found Japan was still one of the largest importers of wool if not the largest) in the world until this paper was written in the late 1970's. Their wool has historically come from Australia. http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n2207/pdf/ch12.pdf http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n2207/pdf/ch12...
- kevin_thibedeau 7y ago
  They never practiced any form of mass animal husbandry. Arable land for fodder would be at a premium for human consumption. Stripping the mountainsides are a danger in earthquake country.
  - elhudy 7y ago
    Found another really interesting paper on this idea that animal husbandry was never really practiced in Japan. ". 'As animals are not used for milk, draught, or food, and there are no pasture lands, both the country and the farm-yards have a singular silence and an inanimate look.'1 She missed the sounds: '...a mean looking dog and a few fowls being the only representatives of domestic animal life. I long for the lowing of cattle and the bleating of sheep.'2 There were also very few horses: 'there is little traffic, and very few horses are kept, one, two, or three constituting the live stock of a large village.'3 Horses were not used for ploughing, nor, even, were they used for carrying. 'Very few horses are kept here. Cows and coolies carry much of the merchandise, and women as well as men carry heavy loads.'4 So rare were domestic animals even in the later nineteenth century, that they were exhibited like exotic species: '...monkey theatres and dog theatres, two mangy sheep and a lean pig attracting wondering crowds, for neither of these animals is known in this region of Japan." http://www.alanmacfarlane.com/savage/A-ANIMAL.PDF http://www.alanmacfarlane.com/savage/A-ANIMAL.PDF

1e-9 7y ago

Perhaps it was due to the ability of cotton to absorb up to 27 times its weight in water. It seems like water-saturated cotton would provide significant evaporative cooling, which might outperform wool's protective properties for short periods of time.

Baeocystin 7y ago
You really, really don't want water on your clothes in a fire. The heat transmission via water/steam will bypass your layers of protective clothing like it wasn't even there, and you will get seriously burned. Source: used to work as a shipyard welder