The Economic History of Japan, 1600-1990. I. Emergence of Economic Society in Japan, 1600-1859 (review)

Japan has a critical place in any understanding of the historical development of capitalism as a worldwide process, but those who do not read Japanese are at a disadvantage concerning Japan's pivotal "early modern" period, as the age of the Tokugawa shogunate (1600–1868) is now most commonly called. The lack of English sources is especially glaring because Japan's early-modern economic history is richly documented in Japanese, and economic history as a discipline has long been an extraordinarily large and active field of inquiry within Japan. This book goes far to bridge the gap. A translation of chapters from the first three volumes of the most important recent collection of scholarly work on Japan's economic history, the Nihon keizaishi (Japanese economic history) series, published by Iwanami in 1988/89, this volume distills the results of many decades of detailed research.¹ The individual writers are among Japan's most senior and best-known economic historians.

The question is why it took sixteen years for such an important collection to appear in English, and only with Japanese funding (a Chinese translation of the series in its entirety, at Chinese initiative, appeared eight years ago.) This work is more than a translation; parts of it have been recast and updated, with new material added.

The book begins with a wide-ranging introduction by Hayami on the emergence of "economic" (or market) society in Japan (the overarching concept of capitalism, which would appear to be highly relevant to this book is avoided by these scholars.) Matao Miyamoto has contributed a treatise in two chapters on quantitative aspects of the economy and on prices and macroeconomic dynamics. Masaru Iwahashi outlines the institutional framework of the economy in both its political and market aspects. Kazui Tashiro explores foreign trade under the so-called "closed country" regime. Hiroshi Shimbo and Akira Hasegawa discuss market and production dynamics. Yujiro guchi delves into central-government finances. Hayami (again) and Hiroshi Kito provide an overview of changes in demography and living standards. Shunsaku Nishikawa and Masatoshi Amano explore the economic policies of domainal governments. Osamu Saito and Masayuki Tanimoto outline the proto-industrial transformation of traditional industries. Toby contributes an important new chapter on rural banking networks. Shimbo and Saito, again, close the volume with a broad synthetic view of Japan's economy on the eve of industrialization. Also included is a new appendix containing reference information, a glossary, index, and bibliography.

This volume contains rich work of the highest quality, presenting a comprehensive picture of the economic dynamics of Tokugawa Japan. Every chapter could form the basis of many further essays of critical exposition. The Economic History of Japan is not immodestly named; it is a standard work indispensable for anyone studying Japanese history in any of its aspects and equally indispensable for anyone undertaking to explore the emergence of capitalism as a world-historical process.