Hamamatsu Information Book

Ikeya Shichizō contributed to the mechanization of the process of dyeing textiles with patterns, which was undertaken manually in Meiji period when the textile industry in Hamamatsu was rapidly growing.

 

He was born in 1855 in Daiku-machi, Hamamatsu-shuku.

A blacksmith of agricultural machinery, Shichizō, put his work aside and devoted himself to the development of dyeing machines. As it took long, he began to struggle financially.

With the support from Miyamoto Jinshichi, he completed a machine that dye textiles with patterns and earned a patent in 1899.

It is said that the machine was so groundbreaking that it revolutionized the dyeing industry.

The company Shichizō and Jinshichi established, Momen Chūgata, expanded and released advanced machines.

 

“Enshū Ijinden Daiikkan“ (Stories of Great Figures of Enshū vol.1)

 “Hamamatsu Sangyōshi” (the History of Hamamatsu's Industry)

 “Enshū Kikai Kinzoku Kōgyō Hattenshi” (History of Enshū’s Machinery and Metal Industry)

 “Nihon Keisen Hyakunenshi” (100 Year History of Nihon Keisen)