Spinning Cotton, lantern slide. 1900s Japan, public domain image.

Image Description from historic lecture booklet: "Cotton is not a native plant in Japan either. It is said that by chance some seeds were brought from India in the year 799 A.D. and being planted they grew well. Then the people learned, from the Chinese, again, how to clean, spin, and weave and thus another useful fabric was added to their wardrobes. the cotton spinning and weaving industries area now very important occupations in Japan. However, the native supply of the raw material is nothing like sufficient; therefore great quantities are brought from abroad, China, India, Egypt, and even the United States. But the Quantity of yarn and cloth produced is greater than is needed at home; consequently exporting these goods to the continent of Asia is one of Japan's most profitable trades. ..Japan's cotton mills increased nearly 300 percent during the world war. The earthquake of 1923 gave the industry a set back but it has practically recovered from that and is today using nearly two million bales of cotton annually, three-tenths of which was shipped from America. In 1924 Japan exported manufactured cotton good to the amount of 150 million dollars.". .Original Collection: Visual Instruction Department Lantern Slides. .Item Number: P217:set 060 044. .You can find this image by searching for the item number by clicking here ( http://oregondigital.org/digcol ) . ..Want more? You can find more digital resources online ( http://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/digital-resources.html ) . ..We're happy for you to share this digital image within the spirit of The Commons; however, certain restrictions on high quality reproductions of the original physical version may apply. To read more about what “no known restrictions” means, please visit the Special Collections & Archives website ( http://archives.library.oregonstate.edu/exhibits/FlickrCommonsNoKnownCopyrightsRestrictions.html ) , or contact staff at the OSU Special Collections & Archives Research Center for details.