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Diversification and Convergence: The Development of Locomotive Technology in Meiji Japan

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The Development of Railway Technology in East Asia in Comparative Perspective

Part of the book series: Studies in Economic History ((SEH))

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Abstract

This chapter offers a reconsideration of the process of Japan’s railway technology development during the Meiji period while focusing on the role of railway engineers and their technical imitation. It is true that underlying Japan’s advancement from imitation to original design were the formation of a cadre of Japanese engineers in both the government railway and private railway companies and the manufacturing know-how cultivated through the copying of a wide variety of model locomotives . In the context of the first wave of globalization occurring around the transition from the 19th to the 20th century, the ability to freely choose from among the most advanced railway materials offered by UK, US, and Germany contributed to the diversification of technology and concomitant accumulation of experience. It was the convergence of this technology and know-how that bore fruit in the development original technology.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by funding from the research grant of Japan Center for Economic Research.

Primary Sources

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan

    Naofumi Nakamura

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  1. Naofumi Nakamura
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Correspondence to Naofumi Nakamura .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Nanzan University, Nagoya, Japan

    Minoru Sawai

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Nakamura, N. (2017). Diversification and Convergence: The Development of Locomotive Technology in Meiji Japan. In: Sawai, M. (eds) The Development of Railway Technology in East Asia in Comparative Perspective . Studies in Economic History. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4904-0_3

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