Empress Harvests First Silkworm Cocoons of the Year; Says Cocoons are ‘Good Quality’

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:15 JST, June 14, 2025

The Empress conducted this year’s first harvest of silkworm cocoons at the Momijiyama Imperial Cocoonery in the Imperial Palace on Friday.

Imperial sericulture has been passed down to successive empresses since 1871. During hatsumayukaki, the first harvest of the year, the Empress removed cocoons from their frames with great care. She said, “This year’s cocoons are good quality,” to an official in charge of breeding silkworms.

Some of the silk is scheduled to be given to the Ise Jingu shrine.