Vol. 71, No. 2

Kazue ENOKI
A study of the changeover to the multi-ends reeling machine in the silk-reeling industry of Japan

In the Japanese silk-reeling industry, most workers involved in the actual reeling process were female. The extraction of the filament from the cocoon, and in particular twisting it together with others to form a single unbroken thread, remained largely unmechanized tasks. This case study of Gunze Silk Mfg. Co., Ltd. will focus on technological change and female labor in this industry.

The multi-ends reeling machine had been invented by Naosaburo MINORIKAWA as early as 1903, but it was not utilized until the 1920s. It came into general use in the subsequent decade, when America's demand for silk changed from textiles to stockings. How did the rapid spread of the machine in silk reeling industry change the factory system? In conclusion, the process of the mechanization was as follows. First, its occurrence was rapid and brought about the reduction of male supervisors. Second, its achievement was closely linked to the transformation of the female labor market. The impact of technological change was limited, and the core task of workers was virtually unchanged. Silk reeling continued to be an operation in which workers were expected to acquire and possess skills.

Tomotaka KAWAMURA
Problems surrounding the foundation of eastern banks before the demise of the East India Company, 1847-1857

Drawing upon recently published research and previously unseen archival sources, the article provides a new explanation of the foundation of eastern banks during the mid-19th century. The main focus is on the Oriental Banking Corporation, the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China, and the Chartered Bank of Asia. Previous considerations have attributed the motivation for the establishment of the banks to the powerful support of British manufacturing interests in opposition to the old colonial system of the East India Company. But the article criticizes the classic explanations for the development of eastern banks in the wider global context of British industrial expansion, making reference to a new interpretation of British imperialism, especially the Cain and Hopkins thesis of ‘gentlemanly capitalism’.

The article emphasizes the role of London-India-based ‘new’ Indian interests as well as ‘old’ India interests of the East India Company. In the process, new insights on two circles of Indian interests within the City of London are revealed to understand the historical context of eastern banks versus the East India Company. At the same time, the article reassesses the important role of the British government (namely, Whitehall), especially the Treasury, as the control tower of British expansionism. In solving many problems surrounding the foundation of eastern banks, the Treasury, the Board of Trade, and the Board of Control for India reached an agreement within Whitehall on preserving the British rule of India as a matter of national interest.

Takahito MORI
Urban electrification in Weimar Germany: a case study of Frankfurt am Main

This article shows the socio-economic dynamism of urban electrification--the diffusion of electricity as necessary energy in urban life--with a case study of Frankfurt during the Weimar period.

Before World War I, electric lights were a luxury so that less than 10% of households used them. But the situation changed in the 1920s. In the period of relative stability, electricity for lighting shifted from being a luxury to becoming necessary energy. This was due to a new rate system intended to benefit small-scale consumers.

Besides the adoption of a new rate system, advertisement also played an important role. A case in point was the ‘Lichtfest’ (Light Festival) held in 1927 to boost the illumination of show windows. It contributed not only to spreading the use of electric lights but to innovating illumination techniques in general.

With the spread of electric lights in urban life, a completely electrified life came to be considered as an ideal. However, such a lifestyle was just a utopia, adopted only experimentally in newly developed suburban residential areas. The gap between ideal and reality was not owing to the negative attitude of consumers toward the new lifestyle, but to the electricity rates, which were still too high for daily use of electrical appliances.

Mayako OZAKI
Change and continuity in the origins and vocations of immigrants in Geneva in the late 18th century

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the origins and vocations of immigrants in Geneva by using the ‘Book of inhabitants’ and residence permits and also to study change and continuity in the late 18th century.

In the early 18th century, most immigrants came from southern France. In the middle of the 18th century, the ratio of immigrants from Germany and German-speaking Switzerland increased, while French immigrants decreased. Despite the changes in the proportion of their places of origin, the occupational make-up of the immigrants remained unchanged. There were two major categories of work. The first comprised the professions making products for export, represented by watchmakers. The second comprised professions making daily necessaries, such as shoemakers and tailors. Those in the former professions were mostly from French-speaking regions, where the watch-making industry was already established. Workers in the latter category shifted from those from French-speaking regions to those from German-speaking regions.

During this period, most Genevans sought employment in professions in the former category but rarely in the latter. It might be said that the immigrants played an important role in correcting this unbalanced situation.