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According to the Marxist interpretation still dominant in Japanese
studies, the last century and a half of the Tokugawa period was a
time of economic and demographic stagnation. Professors Hanley and
Yamamura argue that a more satisfactory explanation can be provided
within the framework of modem economic theory, and they advance and
test three important new hypotheses in this book. The authors
suggest that the Japanese economy grew throughout the Tokugawa
period, though slowly by modern standards and unevenly. This
growth, they show, tended to exceed the rate of population increase
even in the poorer regions, thus raising the living standard
despite major famines. Population growth was controlled by a
variety of methods, including abortion and infanticide, for the
primary purpose of raising the standard of living. Contrary to the
prevailing view of scholars, thus, the conclusions advanced here
indicate that the basis for Japan's rapid industrialization in the
Meiji period was in many ways already established during the latter
part of the Tokugawa period. The authors' analysis combines
original fieldwork with study of data based on findings of the
postwar years. Originally published in 1978. The Princeton Legacy
Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make
available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished
backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the
original texts of these important books while presenting them in
durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton
Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly
heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton
University Press since its founding in 1905.
According to the Marxist interpretation still dominant in Japanese
studies, the last century and a half of the Tokugawa period was a
time of economic and demographic stagnation. Professors Hanley and
Yamamura argue that a more satisfactory explanation can be provided
within the framework of modem economic theory, and they advance and
test three important new hypotheses in this book. The authors
suggest that the Japanese economy grew throughout the Tokugawa
period, though slowly by modern standards and unevenly. This
growth, they show, tended to exceed the rate of population increase
even in the poorer regions, thus raising the living standard
despite major famines. Population growth was controlled by a
variety of methods, including abortion and infanticide, for the
primary purpose of raising the standard of living. Contrary to the
prevailing view of scholars, thus, the conclusions advanced here
indicate that the basis for Japan's rapid industrialization in the
Meiji period was in many ways already established during the latter
part of the Tokugawa period. The authors' analysis combines
original fieldwork with study of data based on findings of the
postwar years. Originally published in 1978. The Princeton Legacy
Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make
available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished
backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the
original texts of these important books while presenting them in
durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton
Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly
heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton
University Press since its founding in 1905.
Japan was the only non-western nation to industrialize before 1900
and its leap into the modern era has stimulated debates among
historians and social scientists. In a discussion that posits the
importance of physical well-being as a key indicator of living
standards, the text considers daily life in the three centuries
leading up to modern era in Japan. It concludes that people lived
much better than has been previously understood - at levels equal
or superior to their western contemporaries. It goes on to
illustrate how this high level of physical well-being has important
consequences for Japan's ability to industrialize rapidly and for
the comparatively smooth transition to a modern, industrial
society.
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