ABSTRACT
The financial institutions of Meiji Japan – both the financial structures that emerged during this period and the assumptions behind them – were shaped by the professionalism and power of a newly educated generation, not encumbered by pre-Meiji institutional experience but equipped with an international outlook. Members of this generation enjoyed a special opportunity. By working for the state they were able to exercise power and help to modernise the financial institutions of Meiji Japan. By educating successive generations of leaders they were able to influence their thinking and shape the nation’s future financial development.
