Vol. 73, No.4
Toshihiko KOBA
Chikuho (northern Kyushu) coal mining companies and sailing ships in the Seto Inland Sea: a case study of Aso Shoten during the 1920s

Most of the coal in the Chikuho area was transported by sailing ship across the Seto Inland Sea during the interwar period. A distinctive characteristic of these ships was the presence of ippaisenshu [owner-operators], who were independent ship owners. This paper aims to examine the reasons for the development of the ippaisenshu management system by analyzing the sale and transport of coal by one coal mining company, Aso Shoten, during the 1920s.

Aso Shoten expanded its market in the Hanshin area, and it therefore owned its own ships and also secured long-term contract ships after World War I. However, Aso Shoten’s business evolved into small transactions, and it was forced to take measures to prevent holding surplus tonnage. Ippaisenshu played a crucial role in coal transportation by offering flexible shipments, which relied on shipping deals with kaisoten [shipping agents]. While many kaisoten at the port of shipment (Wakamatsu) were integrated into a joint-stock company that sought to stabilize shipping deals, there were also a large number of new shipping agents that offered small-scale shipping deals. The shipping network in the Seto Inland Sea, firmly built on the relations between the kaisoten and ippaisenshu, provided the Chikuho coal mining companies with reliable transport capacity.

Jaehyang HAN
The pachinko entertainment industry and Korean-Japanese enterprises

The present paper examines the factors that contributed to the commitment of Korean-Japanese entrepreneurs to the pachinko (pinball) entertainment business. Industry-specific resources that had accumulated within that ethnic minority community facilitated the entry process, and ultimately the pachinko business became one of the typical industries of Koreans in Japan.

The resources that encouraged the entrepreneurs to join the pachinko industry were formed inside the community in the first half of the 1950s. As people who joined the industry increased, Korean-Japanese found themselves in an environment in which they naturally encountered valuable information that spread through informal communication networks. As the industry expanded on a national scale, markets were inclusive enough to utilize the common information among entrepreneurs without conflict within the community. Recognizing the high social risks that resulted from such negative elements of the pachinko business as organized crime connections, Japanese entrepreneurs restrained themselves from entering the industry. With the favorable conditions of both an expanding and profitable market environment and limited investment by Japanese, Korean-Japanese actively exploited the advantages of commonly usable resources within their community and increased the concentration of their business activities in the pachinko industry.

Michiko TAKATA
Trends in the money in circulation from medieval to early modern times: archaeological data for the Chugoku region

This paper considers the theory of kobetsu-hakkenka [single-find] by analyzing a set of data drawn from data recorded between 1151 and 1635 for the Kyushu region and new data collected for the Chugoku region.

The main results derive from applying the kobetsu-hakkenka theory to detect monetary activity in Chugoku and Kyushu before the custom of bichiku-sen [hoard] began. The results obtained for Chugoku are similar to those previously derived for Kyushu. Moreover, similar trends can be seen in Hiroki OBATA’s results, which were obtained using haiki-iki-sen [disposed coins]. It became apparent that the monetary exchanges in Kyushu developed earlier than those in Chugoku. Mark BLACKBURN has indicated that a comparison of results for different sites and regions is necessary in order examine the theory from various approaches, but the kobetsu-hakkenka data proved valid for making comparisons between regions. On examining data collected for different categories of coins, specific coins, such as mumon-sen [blank coins] and kobu coin [hongwu tongbao] unearthed in Kokura and Iwami Ginzan, showed different patterns.

Koichi NAGAHAMA
Problems surrounding the revision of the election rule in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Prague in 1883-84

This article studies the controversy surrounding the revision of the election rule in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Prague between Germany and Czech in 1883-84. Its aim is to position this controversy as a turning point in national relations in Prague, especially the formation of the modern Czech nation.

The following two points are clarified. First, both industrialization and national tensions were the root of this controversy. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Habsburg monarchy was one of the electoral bodies from which members of the Imperial Diet and state legislature were elected. Therefore the Czech demand to be given a larger say in the chamber not only reflected the socio-economic development of Czech, but also connoted the national interests that were directly related to the empire’s politics.

Second, the empire’s government valued cooperation with Czech. While Germany refused the revision for reasons of autonomous rights of the chamber, the government ordered a reform and finally reached a solution in which the Czech demand was accepted. This indicates that Czech had developed enough to compete with Germany, and national relations within the monarchy reached a new level in which nations were on a more equal standing.