英語訳
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Commerce and Industry
The various businesses within Toyohashi City can be divided into approximately one hundred and several dozen types through producers, wholesalers, and retail businesses, with the most important ones being:
Silk floss manufacturing, raw silk manufacturing, hemp-braided sandal manufacturing, cocoon and silk wholesaling, cocoon and silk waste wholesaling, reprocessed silk thread industry, canning industry, lumber dealers
Rice and grain dealers, fertilizer dealers, textile dealers, liquor dealers, miso and soy sauce dealers, footwear dealers, confectionery dealers, Western goods and sundries dealers, tabi (traditional sock) dealers, general merchandise dealers, dried goods
dealers, firewood and charcoal dealers, transportation industry, furniture dealers, fish dealers, marine products dealers, egg dealers, stationery dealers, thread dealers, fishing net dealers, green dried goods dealers
and so forth.
The cocoon production in the rural areas around Toyohashi City is remarkable. Last year (Showa 14), the market circulation of fresh cocoons was over 214,500 kan, valued at over 2,162,700 yen, with over 789,800 kan consigned to the Eastern Three Prefectures Dried Cocoon Union. The development of the silk manufacturing industry is truly astounding, particularly in silk floss production, which has surpassed Joshu, the traditional center, making this the special production area for so-called Sanshu silk floss. The production accounts for approximately 50% of Japan's total silk floss output, and along with the raw silk industry around Lake Suwa in Nagano Prefecture, it is known both domestically and internationally as one of the two major centers of Japan's silk manufacturing industry. The smokestacks standing in rows southwest of Toyohashi Station on the Tokaido line are all from these factories, and there is even a local folk song that goes, "Yoshida deer-spot pattern in the old days, but now silk floss is number one in Japan."
However, while the city has seen such development in the silk industry, the fact that no other industry matches it is the city's greatest shortcoming. Recently, however, military industries are also advancing in conjunction with important facilities in the northern and southern suburbs, and establishing a diversified industrial city by transplanting other major industries is truly an urgent matter.
【Left Page】
As the most important industrial products of Toyohashi City, silk floss, raw silk, and cocoon and silk waste must be mentioned first, followed by miso, soy sauce, hemp-braided sandals, fishing nets, writing brushes, and reprocessed silk thread. Among these, hemp-braided sandals occupy a special position among Japanese products as one of the important export items, being materials exclusively for foreign women's summer hats, and the excellence of the products is outstanding among the eight unions in Japan. The manufacturing of writing brushes also began in the distant Yoshida period and developed rapidly after the Russo-Japanese War, showing momentum that may now surpass Hiroshima in production volume, with most products being sold in the Tokyo area.
Next, although some are considerably affected by the current situation,
Confectionery, alcoholic beverages, kamaboko, chikuwa, seaweed products, bamboo and wood products, footwear, cotton fabric products, cotton processing, silk floss, Yoshida pongee, soft drinks, dried goods
Sweet potatoes, vegetables
are also products that cannot be overlooked. Furthermore, looking at the various businesses from an industrial perspective, the numbers of textile industry, machinery and equipment industry, chemical industry, food and beverage industry, special industry, manufacturing industry, civil engineering and construction industry, and other industries and workers are quite substantial. Recently, national policy substitute products are also being manufactured in the city, with the main ones being:
Recycled rubber shoe soles, silk leather as leather substitute, wooden boxes as tin can substitutes, glass needles as phonograph needle substitutes, diamond tape as cotton cord substitute, wool and feathers as cotton substitutes, pine resin oil, leather and construction materials as pulp cotton substitutes, synthetic resin products, bamboo fiber as reinforced concrete substitute, etc.
Due to the merger with neighboring towns and villages in Showa 7 (1932), the quantities of the city's major products all increased dramatically, particularly notable in agriculture. The number of farming households was only 839 before the merger, but according to recent surveys, it is 4,837 households. Rice production in Showa 14 was 67,611 koku, valued at over 2,890,000 yen. Furthermore, the main agricultural products include rice, cocoons, barley, wheat, sweet potatoes, daikon radish, and melons. Cultivated land also increased dramatically; before the merger
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