ABSTRACT
Most people believe that a country’s industrial development phase begins with the growth of light industries such as the textile industry and the food production industry. No doubt, the lower the income level of a country, the larger the share of textile production.1 A review of the history of Japan’s industrialization shows that until around 1897, industrial production consisted primarily of cotton spinning, silk spinning, and fabrics (Arisawa 1966, p. 16). As mentioned in Chapter 2, silk products were the leading exports when Japan started the modern economic growth in the 1880s. The silk industry has a long tradition in Japan. It has characteristics of both a traditional industry and a primary industry.2 Therefore, the production of silk thread and raw silk cannot unequivocally be called a modern industry. The manufacture of cotton thread and fibers, however, was no doubt an example of industrialization in the context of Japan in the Meiji era, lasting from the reign of the Meiji Emperor to the start of the modern era (1868-1912). Furthermore, after the war, around 1954, immediately prior to the start of the period of rapid economic development, nearly 40 percent of Japan’s exports consisted of textile products (see Table 2.4).
