ABSTRACT
Compared to the uniqueness of Japanese management practices such as seniority-based wage systems, lifetime employment, consensus decision-making and the quality control movement, little attention has been paid to Japanese marketing practices and history. The end of the Edo period in the late 1860s brought Japan’s 200-year isolation to a close. Japan opened itself to the world and the Meiji period started. The new Meiji government took the initiative and encouraged new industries to catch up to and surpass the major US and European powers. The government established silk-reeling factories and spinning mills, as silk was one of Japan’s staple exports, along with cotton yarn and textile products. The new Meiji government also took the initiative in introducing Western culture. New products like milk, bread, Western confectionary and beer appeared on the market, while oil lamps became commonplace and the use of electric lighting began.
