The State And The Industrious Revolution in Tokugawa Japan

According to Patrick O’Brien, Smithian growth is a label which includes the formation and integration of markets for land, labour and capital as well as institutional frameworks for the discovery and diffusion of useful and reliable knowledge. The growth is expected to raise the standard of living, and is often supported by the efficient state (O’Brien 2003).This is certainly not a definition which comes to mind when we reflect on the economic development of Tokugawa Japan. There was little or no formation of land and capital markets; labour was essentially tied to land, and there was an occupational division between farmers, artisans and merchants, in addition to the strict caste-like division between them and the ruling samurai class. The seclusion policy prohibited travelling abroad, and severely limited human contacts with foreigners, if not trade itself.[...]