In the first half of the twentieth century, as external interest in the industrialisation of Japan grew, an increasing number of books on the topic by western authors were published in English. The authors included here address a wide range of topics, both general and specific. Room is given to a number of expansive interpretations of the course of Japanese industrialisation, but the set also includes volumes which focus more specifically on agriculture, manufacturing and labour.
The majority of these volumes are now out of print, and they are characterised by detailed research and analytical insights that mean they have yet to be surpassed. This ten volume set, therefore, is a vital resource for the study of Japanese economics and the reactions of the Western world to them.