Vol. 72, No.6

Satoshi BABA
Housing policy in Birmingham and the British town planning movement at the beginning of the 20th century: the activities and ideas of J.S. Nettlefold

This paper aims to demonstrate the activities and ideas of J.S. Nettlefold in the areas of housing policy and town planning, and his role in the British town planning movement at the beginning of the 20th century. As chairman of the Housing Committee of Birmingham City Council, Nettlefold took a stance against slum clearance and municipal house building, and repaired unsanitary houses in the city centre under Part II of the Housing of Working Classes Act, 1890. At the same time, Nettlefold advocated the introduction of a German-style town extension plan under the influence of T.C. Horsfall’s book and from his own experience from visits to German towns. In the report to the city council in 1906, Nettlefold proposed town planning and municipal land purchase in the suburbs to prevent the creation of future slums, and the city council approved his motion for a national legislation. It was Nettlefold who popularised the term ‘town planning’ in Britain. Thus Nettlefold, in collaboration with the garden city movement, played a unique role in the British town planning movement until the enactment of the Housing and Town Planning etc. Act, 1909.

Kazuhiro YUKUTAKE
Precise annual figures for Japanese-Dutch trade in the Edo period: an analysis of account books kept at the Dutch factory in the first half of the 17th century

It is well known that the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie) conducted trade with Japan during the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1609, the company established a factory in Hirado, which in 1641 was ordered to move to Nagasaki. In both factories, the Dutch merchants kept their account books according to the Italian system of double-entry bookkeeping. These account books—for example, the journals (Negotie Journalen) and the ledgers (Negotie Grootboeken) —are preserved in the Netherlands National Archives in The Hague.

In the past, Oskar NACHOD and Japanese scholars have made use of these archival materials for their analyses of the management of the Dutch factory in Japan. However, because they did not entirely understand the bookkeeping system used, the results of their calculations for the volume of trade are not precise, and their results differ from each other.

This paper tries to clarify how to calculate the actual figures of import and export goods for Japanese-Dutch trade by analysing the account books in the first half of the 17th century. It also seeks to correct the results of the calculations by NACHOD and others. During this period, Japanese-Dutch trade experienced transitions in scale and formation due to the foreign and trade policies of both sides and the situation on the high seas and coastal waters of East and Southeast Asia.

The account books are fundamental archival sources, and they provide a detailed picture of the annual trade between Japan and the Dutch East India Company. However, we cannot understand the exact volume recorded unless we have a clear idea of the way in which the books were organized.

Ken'ichi TOMOBE
Secular trends and short-term fluctuations of mean age of menarche and an analysis of peak height velocity in modern Japan: a reconsideration of economic darkness during the interwar period from the viewpoint of anthropometric history

Research on secular trends and short-term fluctuations of the mean age of menarche in Japan from the 1880s to the 1980s has revealed the following facts:
1. From 1920, Japan’s mean age of menarche began an obvious decline, which continued until 1945, with some short-term fluctuations. But it rose soon afterwards and again began to decline drastically from 1950;
2. The mean age of menarche of schoolgirls and mill girls declined from the 1910s to the 1930s. Because both of them were in relatively disadvantaged positions within the Japanese household system of ‘ie’ in terms of nutritional intake, the decline in mean age implied possible improvement of the general standard of living in Japan during the period;
3. Analysis of peak height velocity of elementary and secondary school boys and girls showed PHV during the 1920s, and their tendency to grow in height continued to the 1930s.

These findings allow us to reconsider the evaluation of economic conditions during the interwar period in Japan, especially from the 1910s to the 1930s.

Sachiko KITAYAMA
Small retailing during the high-growth era in Japan

Sufficient research on case studies in the small retailing business during the high-growth era has yet to be undertaken. Using internal documents to seek the historical meaning of small retailers, this paper analyzes Kawatatsu store, a food and miscellaneous-goods retailer in Shiga prefecture. Previous research attributes the existence of large numbers of small retailers to economic growth in Japan, and the cause of their decline to their lack of desire to grow.

Kawatatsu store prospered because its owner, Iwanosuke, was determined to see his business succeed. His three management policies were as follows:
1. For an effective selection of goods, make wholesalers compete with each other.
2. Use cheap labor to increase added value on goods or services.
3. Actively adopt various types of sales promotional activities.

Using these policies, Kawatatsu established its economic foundation during the high-growth era. Family members and employees who served multi-functions and worked long hours supported this economic foundation. From the 1970s, however, Kawatatsu store was unable to maintain an effective labor force, and in 1988, the store was closed.