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Vol.
67, No. 5
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Keishi SHIRATORI
The bankruptcy and rescue of a local 'financing bank' during the Showa
depression (1929~35): a case study of the rescue merger of Tateoka Bank
by Ryou Bank
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In the 1920s, Tateoka Bank faced a management crisis due to the bankruptcy
of its main client, Hokugun Seishi Co. By 1929 it was clear that recovery
was impossible, and the bank therefore made a successful appeal to Ryou
Bank for rescue. Ryou Bank's condition was that the President of Tateoka,
Isaburo WATANABE, would accept liability for the greater part of Tateoka's
losses. This was because Tateoka's credibility was based on WATANABE's
financial reputation. WATANABE accepted these terms, and the rescue
merger began.
However, WATANABE's position was so damaged by the Showa depression
that he tried to withdraw his agreement. The President of Ryou Bank,
Shinshichi MIURA, did not wish to stop the merger because he wanted
to preserve credibility, so he urged Watanabe to reconsider. The mayor
of Yamagata, Katsubei TAKAHASHI, who belonged to the same political
party as Tateoka Bank, produced a compromise which would lessen the
burden on WATANABE. Ryou Bank agreed, making the merger possible. The
roles played by WATANABE and TAKAHASHI are characteristic of rescue
mergers in this period. However, without MIURA's encouragement, the
merger plan would have failed.
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Gakuto MATSUDA
The formation of the machine and tool casting industry in Osaka in the
Meiji period (1868~1912)
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In the Meiji period, foundries for machines and tools were separate
from foundries for household goods such as pots and kettles. Most of
the foundries in Osaka were small factories employing fewer than ten
workers, and followed a process of modernization different from that
of the government factories and the large privately owned ones, both
of which were highly capitalized. While the latter modernized their
casting processes with imported technology and under the tuition of
foreign engineers, the small and medium foundries gradually adapted
existing indigenous technology.
In the late Meiji period, there were five areas with clusters of foundries
surrounding the center of Osaka. However, unlike Kawaguchi in Saitama
prefecture, which specialized in casting, in Osaka machine workshops
existed alongside foundries. The relationship between them was horizontal
and interdependent rather than vertical.
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Takuya HAYASHI
The export of Japanese tape recorders during the 1960s: the two export
routes of Japanese tape recorders
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The purpose of this article is to investigate one of the factors that
made the Japanese tape recorder industry competitive on international
markets during the 1960s. The article will focus on one characteristic
of the industry, the fact that during the take off period of the product,
it was only made for use in radio broadcasting. The relationship between
the product and its market is therefore the key issue here.
The Japanese tape recorder industry had two export routes: 'products
utilized rim drive system' and 'products utilized capstan drive system'.
One factor in the international competitiveness of Japanese tape recorders
stemmed from the latter. The products utilized capstan drive system
created a new domestic market for Japanese tape recorders because of
its potential as a study aide. The industry succeeded in making inexpensive
and high quality products which were mass produced for the new market.
It was because foreign producers could not match this achievement that
Japanese tape recorders were able to make inroads into overseas markets
in the 1960s.
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Xianming ZENG
The establishment of modern banking in China: an analysis of the loan
business of the Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank, 1920~31
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This is an analysis of the
banking services of one of the biggest commercial banks in China's modern
history, the Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank, with reference to
its Shanghai loan business. The bank had started on a small scale but
achieved remarkable growth during the period 1920 to 1931 through two
practices. The first was by entering the traditional Qian Zhuang (indigenous
Chinese) banking system in order to establish a solid business foundation;
the second was by providing a modern style banking service system suited
to the socio-economic development of Shanghai during the 1920s. One
of the basic issues surrounding the modernization of the Chinese economy
is the problem of how to transplant modern systems into such a conservative
society. The growth of the Shanghai Commercial and Savings Bank may
provide answers for the banking industry.
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Takaya INAGAKI
The landowning class and the development of the suburban residential
areas of Berlin at the beginning of the twentieth century
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This article is an examination
of the formation of the residential areas of suburban Berlin at the
beginning of the twentieth century, with special reference to the role
of the class of individual landowners. My analysis made it clear that:
(1) The individuals who were actively engaged in the formation of these
areas were primarily members of the Rentner and business classes.
(2) Many landowners bought plots of land with the intention of putting
them on the market again after a short period. As a result the market
for land became very active, and private real estate and construction
companies made large profits.
These two points show that there was growth not a decline in the private
real estate and construction sectors in Berlin at the beginning of the
twentieth century.
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