The Magino Village Story: Raising Silkworms

Japan, 1977. Director Ogawa Productions. 112min.

From the birth of silkworms in the spring, through their voracious appetite for mulberry leaves as they grow, to their cocoon building in time for autumn, this film immerses viewers in nature, deep in the mountains of northern Japan. Made by Ogawa Productions, a collective founded by the documentarian Ogawa Shinsuke in 1968, the film’s depiction of land and agriculture established their preference for hands-on projects combining farming and filmmaking for over 15 years. As sericulture was largely overseen by women, the film focuses on Kimura Sato, who had spent half of her life raising silkworms. Ogawa’s wife, Shiraishi Yoko, documented every step of this nurturing process on 8mm film. This feature compiles Shiraishi’s footage, enlarged to 16mm film, in a patient portrait of animal and manual labour, seasonal time and land. 

Past screenings

Grounded: Fashion’s Entanglements with Nature – London
Wednesday 28 May 2025, 20:45 | Barbican, Cinema 2
Screened from 16mm, with introduction by 2024 BBC New Generation Thinker Becca Voelcker.