The rise and fall of Japanese-made worsted muslin in the early twentieth century

This article argues that the worsted muslin produced in modern Japan (1868–1945) was a form of fashion deeply entangled with Japan’s imperial expansion in the 1920s and early 1930s. Current research on Japanese mousseline de laine (worsted muslin) rarely deals with the question of how it was advertised, traded and worn outside of mainland Japan. Consequently, this article aims to analyse the economic and cultural roles of worsted muslin in modern Japan and China from a transnational perspective. The article shines a light on the worsted muslin industry in early twentieth-century Japan and on its impact in overseas markets, showing how the industry was related to transnational trade as well as to Japanese imperialism. Firstly, it details how worsted muslin exercised a significant role in pre-war Japan’s economic and cultural development. Secondly, it argues that Japanese-made worsted muslin came to be seen as a symbol of Japanese nationalism and imperialism, as Japan’s promotion of worsted muslin on the Asian continent coincided with the rise of an anti-Japanese movement in China. As a result, worsted muslin in China came to be seen as a symbol of Japan’s imperialist escapades rather than a cultural export.