From Samurai to Engineer-Manager The Case Study of Ōhara Junnosuke (1859–96), Mining Specialist in Meiji Japan

Acknowledgements

Notes to the reader

1. Prologue: Some personal remarks on the history of the Ōhara Papers

A surprising discovery

ICE, the lecture notes and other documents and sources

Ōhara Junnosuke and his professional life

Ōhara Junnosuke: The man

The future of the Ōhara Papers – A brief outlook

2. Technical education on the eve of Japan’s industrial revolution – An overview

The beginnings of an education system

From education to ‘technical education’

Engineers are what the country needs!

3. Ōhara Junnosuke: Engineer and manager – A biographical sketch

Why Ōhara’s biography matters

Ōhara Junnosuke: Birth, youth and general education

The step towards higher education: The Imperial College of Engineering

Studying at the ICE

First lessons for First Year Cadet Ōhara Junnosuke

Study content: Curricula vs. lecture notes

From latecomer to first-class student

Ōhara Junnosuke on tour

Done: Graduation!

4. To new shores

Employment at the Ministry of Public Works (Kōbushō)

Field research in Ashio

Foundation of the Mining and Metallurgical Institute of Japan

Field research in Kyūshū

Ōhara on tour again: The diary

Inspection trip to Ōita (Bungo province)

Inspection trip to Miyazaki (Hyūga province)

Inspection tour in Kagoshima (Provinces Ōsumi and Satsuma)

The investigation questionnaire (Chōsa-roku)

Results of the inspection tour in Kyūshū

5. From civil service to private industry

Fujita-gumi

Silver mining in Japan and the Iwami silver mine: A short history

Fujita-gumi and Ōmori-kōzan (Iwami-ginzan)

Dreams: Modern technology and its pitfalls

6 .Conclusion

7. Epilogue

Appendix 1

William Gray Dixon, The Land of the Morning. An account of Japan and its people, based on a four years’ residence in that country

Appendix 2

Kōgaku-ryō narabi ni sho kisoku

Appendix 3

Examination papers for the entrance examination to the Imperial College of Engineering

References

Index

Biography

Erich Pauer is Professor emeritus of Japanese Studies at the University of Marburg (Germany) and presently engaged in the Centre Européen d’Études Japonaises d’Alsace (CEEJA) in Colmar, France. He has written widely on Japan’s history of technology and economic development from the Edo period to World War II. His recent publications include Technical Knowledge in Early Modern Japan (ed. with Ruselle Meade 2020), Accessing Technical Education in Modern Japan 2 vols. (ed. with Regine Mathias, 2022).