A History of Economic Thought in Japan

This ground-breaking book provides the first English-language survey of economic thought in modern Japan. Significantly, it offers both a detailed study of economic thought from 1600 to 1945 and a nuanced analysis of Western and Asian perspectives on the field of Japanese economic history. Expertly translated from Japanese and written by leading scholars in the field, this exciting study includes: * A novel approach to economic thought which contextualizes the core values of thinkers across the period * A comparative analysis of Japanese economic history which looks at the continuities across the Meiji divide * The extensive use of archival sources, many of which were previously unavailable in English A History of Economic Thought in Japan, 1600 - 1945 serves as a case study of how Western economic ideas spread to non-Western regions and interacted with indigenous ideas. It will therefore be of immense value to both scholars of economic thought and those seeking a deeper understanding of the moral, intellectual, and societal forces that shaped modern Japan.

Hiroshi Kawaguchi, Sumiyo Ishii, Ayuko Tanaka, and Tadashi Anno

List of Maps List of Tables About the Authors and Translators Preface to the English Edition Preface to the Japanese Edition Notes on Style Introduction Module I. The Development of the Theory of Political Economy 1. The Emergence of an Estate-Based Society 2. Samurai in Time of Peace 3. Administering the Society and Saving the People through De-Marketization 4. De-Marketization through Shogunal Power Module II. A Turn Toward Economic Pragmatism 5. A Turning Point in the Theory of Keisei Saimin 6. Shogun Yoshimune and Pragmatic Officials 7. Tanuma Okitsugu and the Era of Intellectual Pluralism 8. The Way of the Market and Domainal Interest Module III. Estate-Based Society and Occupational Duty 9. Occupational Duty and the Self-Assertion of Peasants, Artisans, and of Merchants 10. Economic Thought in a Stationary Society Module IV. Reconceptualizing Japan and the World 11. Japan and National Learning 12. Changes in the Japanese Worldview in the Nineteenth Century 13. Arguments for Opening up the Country Module V. Modern Japan: Its Birth and Economic Vision 14. East Asian vs. Western Views on Human Beings and Society 15. Intellectuals of the "Meiji Enlightenment" 16. The Meiji State and the Promotion of Industry 17. Visions for Policy on Industry and Trade Module VI. Managers of Modern Industrial Enterprises 18. Higher Education and Entrepreneurship 19. Organizers of Entrepreneurial Activities 20. New Industries of the Twentieth Century Module VII. Questioning Modernity 21. Critical Perspectives on Japanese Capitalism 22. Social Policy and Japanese-Style Marxism 23. Japan in an Era of Crises References Index