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Silk, regional rivalry, and the impact of the port openings in nineteenth century Japan

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  • Atsumi, Toshihiro

Abstract

The centre of economic activities in Japan was once in western Japan. Since the mid-nineteenth century, however, economic activities within Japan have been continuously shifting towards the east side of the country including Tokyo. Conventional wisdom associates the end of the Tokugawa feudal regime with this eastward shift. By applying a new economic geography model to the silk economy of Japan in the nineteenth century, this paper explains why the majority of industrial activities located initially in western Japan, and offers an alternative economic explanation for the eastward shift as an impact of the port openings in 1859.

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  • Atsumi, Toshihiro, 2010. "Silk, regional rivalry, and the impact of the port openings in nineteenth century Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 519-539, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jjieco:v:24:y:2010:i:4:p:519-539
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    Cited by:

    1. Mathias Hoffmann & Toshihiro Okubo, 2021. "Comparative advantage and pathways to financial development: evidence from Japan’s silk-reeling industry," ECON - Working Papers 387, Department of Economics - University of Zurich.
    2. Mathias Hoffmann & Toshihiro Okubo, 2012. "By a Silken Thread: regional banking integration and pathways to financial development in Japan's Great Recession," Keio/Kyoto Joint Global COE Discussion Paper Series 2012-021, Keio/Kyoto Joint Global COE Program.
    3. Toshihiro Atsumi & Daniel M. Bernhofen, 2011. "The effects of the unequal treaties on normative, economic and institutional changes in 19th century Japan," Discussion Papers 11/19, University of Nottingham, GEP.
    4. Hoffmann, Mathias & Okubo, Toshihiro, 2022. "‘By a silken thread’: Regional banking integration and credit reallocation during Japan's lost decade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).

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