ABSTRACT
The conclusion summarizes and discusses my research findings on the contributions of Japan’s forced prison labour on its first colony, Hokkaido. Research results highlight the local, national and international significance of convict labour during the colonization of Hokkaido and the building of the Japanese Empire. Importantly, my data also suggest that although Japan tried to implement Western ideas of the prison as total institution, the concrete reality of the prison differed from theoretical concepts. For example, the boundaries between prisons and their environment was not clearly marked during the colonization of Hokkaido between 1881 and 1894. The book thus adds the historiography of Meiji Japan and Hokkaido in particular, and to the global study of prisons and forced labour in general.
