#3034 - Week 5 Reading – Transplantation Of The European Factory System And Adaptations In Japan - Chinese Economic History Since 1850

Was the first real steam filature in Japan – 1872

Government controlled training factory

Designed to improve quality of Japanese raw silk

• As it was the most important export in the early Meiji period

Faced difficulties in producing Western construction materials

• Indigenous techniques and raw materials

Meiji government had only recently (a few years back), adopted the open-door policy

• Began to promote industrialization

  • Actively introducing Western culture and technology

• But anti-alienism was still widespread

  • Based on ideas from the previous Tokugawa Rule

  • “blood-wine” rumour

When it finally opened, the number of applicants was surprisingly small (because of the anti-alienism)

The transfer of technology was not the most significant feature

• Transplant of a completely new Western production system was more important

  • i.e. the factory system

Tomioka filature focused “quality-first” principle

There already existed a few Western-style filatures

• “domestic filatures”

• But were based on viewpoint of cheaper and easier transfers of Western technology

  • Adaptation rather than adoption

Tomioka filature introduced a Western factory management system to Japan

• Sunday holidays

  • Unknown in Japanese society due to reliance on lunar calendar and lack of Christianity

  • These regular holidays led to high-absentee rate, loitering and tardiness

  • Government introduced Sunday system into public schools and offices in 1876

  • Took until 1940s to penetrate factories and society

• 8 hour days

• Meals and housing conditions in the dormitory were better than average rural conditions

• Medical office

Was too idealistic

Successive losses and poor financial situation

After 1900s Japanese silk-reeling industry began to deprive China of the raw-silk export market

French filature system was too expensive and sophisticated

• So led to modifications in the technology, marketing policy and institution

The production of fine sizes from poor cocoons is accompanied by a high proportion of waste silk

• Moved to thicker size, which was consumed more by the US market

  • Because of low price for its level of quality

Switchover to “quantity-first” principle encountered problem of insufficient cocoon supply

• Led to development in early 1900s of bi-voltine silkworm varieties (two broods a year)

Government supported the industry in promoting the standardization movement of cocoon varieties

• Enabling production of more homogeneous raw-silk

Economic adaptations

Subsequent factories were smaller than Tomioka

• Home-manufactured wooden machines

• Water power, not steam

• Only steam for cocoon-cooking and reeling

Despite retrogression, these still were more productive than the traditional Zaguri system

There were also changes to labour management

• Made it more Japanese

• Longer working hours

• Poorer meals and extremely bad housing conditions

• Strict wage-incentive system

• Overseeing of workers (a very Japanese method)

• Workers encouraged to compete with one another

• Gang production system

Social adjustments

• Shortage of workers at Tomioka was for 2 reasons:

  • Prejudice and ignorance of Western culture and technology

  • Social resistance to young girls’ migration under the traditional value system and locally divided labour markets

• Meiji government took on powerful enlightenment policies to remove prejudice

  • Consolidated the education system

  • Industrial exhibitions

  • Sample fairs

• Entrepreneurs established the specific Japanese dormitory and recruiting systems to supplement the underdevelopment of the labour market

• Lead to a domestically...