History of silk and in part replaced natural silk. Following the crisis in Europe, the modernization of sericulture in Japan made it the world's foremost silk producer. By the early 20th century, rapidly industrializing Japan was producing as much as 60 percent of the world's raw silk, most exports shipping through the port of Yokohama. Italy managed to rebound from the crisis, but France was unable. Urbanization in Europe saw many French and Italian agricultural workers leave silk growing for more lucrative factory work. Raw silk was imported from Japan to fill the void. Asian countries, formerly exporters of raw materials (cocoons and
Japanese silk and the Japanese textile expansion it made Japan a world leader in silk, surpassing China in 1862. After World War Two however China ruled the silk industry once more. Japanese silk Japanese silk is silk harvested in the country of Japan. The silk industry there was predominant from the 1800s to 1950s, but is less common now. The practice of harvesting silk began in Japan in the 3rd century, when the technique was adapted from their East Asian neighbors, China and Korea. They refined the techniques to make it distinctly Japanese, and Japanese silk became widely known as being of