Women and the Labour Market in Japan's Industrialising Economy : The Textile Industry Before the Pacific War

During the period of industrialisation in Japan from the 1870s to the 1930s, the textile industry was Japan's largest manufacturing industry, and the country's major source of export earnings. It had a predominantly female labour force, drawn mainly from the agricultural population. This book examines the institutions of the labour market of this critical industry during this important period for Japanese economic development. Based on extensive original research, the book provides a wealth of detail, showing amongst other things the complexity of the labour market, the interdependence of the agricultural and manufacturing sectors, and the importance of gender. It argues that the labour market institutions which developed in this period had a profound effect on the labour market and labour relations in the postwar years. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 List of figures and tables......Page 9 Acknowledgements......Page 10 Introduction: textile workers and Japanese industrialisation......Page 12 The rural connection: growth, distribution and gender......Page 20 The growth of the mechanised textile industries in prewar Japan......Page 42 Rural origins......Page 61 The making of textile workers......Page 100 The institutions of wage payment......Page 155 Changing the rules of the game: the role of the government......Page 201 Collusion and collaboration: collective action by employers and employees......Page 234 Textile work, families and villages......Page 281 A summing up......Page 308 Bibliography......Page 313 Index......Page 332 Humanities Book Cover 1 Title 4 Contents 5 List of figures and tables 9 Acknowledgements 10 Introduction: textile workers and Japanese industrialisation 12 The rural connection: growth, distribution and gender 20 The growth of the mechanised textile industries in prewar Japan 42 Rural origins 61 The making of textile workers 100 The institutions of wage payment 155 Changing the rules of the game: the role of the government 201 Collusion and collaboration: collective action by employers and employees 234 Textile work, families and villages 281 A summing up 308 Bibliography 313 Index 332