Research on Wealthy people, Investors and Entrepreneurs in Modern Japan

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1 At the beginning of this project nine members were divided into two groups : shisanka [wealthy people] group and kabunushi [shareholderes] group, both of which investigated the data of two years of 1898 (Meiji 31 nen) and 1907-08 (Meiji 40-41 nen). Shisanka group built the database from Nippon Zenkoku Shoko Jinmei-roku [All Japan Merchants and Manufacturers' Directory], a basic material which includes names of merchants and manufacturers, their addresses, industries to which they belonged, the taxes which they paid and so on. Kabunushi group made the database of the name lists of shareholders which are included in an annual company report. These databases have been almost completed, which will be very useful in order to analyze the wealthy people, investors and entrepreneurs at the early stage of Japanese industrialization. Some problems are left. Shisanka group must check the data which were entered into a computer. Kabunushi group need to further collect the additional materials and to enter the data into a computer. However, we want to show the results to the academic society as soon as possible.2 Each of the members visited some places in Japan, where he collected the materials relating to wealthy people, investors and entrepreneurs, which the Ohara family at Kurashiki in Okayama Prefecture, the Sasaki family at Shin'ichi in Hiroshima Prefecture, the Hitotsubashi University Library in Tokyo, etc. have.3 In every year we had two or three workshops, where each of the members gave his presentation on the individual research, and all the participants reported the situation of the database building, of collecting materials. etc. and discussed each other. The above-mentioned research trips and workshops greatly helped for the members to publish many articles and books.4 We also made great efforts to collect many published valuable materials, which are kept in the main library of the Osaka University.