New Books from Japan #15: "Research and Development in a 'Late Developer' Japan: Telecommunications, Engineers, and Nationalism"

Presenter: 河西棟馬 (Kawanishi Toma, Institute of Science Tokyo)

Discussant: Hiromi Mizuno (University of Minnesota Twin Cities)

Moderator: Sayaka Chatani (National University of Singapore)

Will "late-comer countries" forever remain as consumers of technologies invented elsewhere? This ambitious work traces the lineage of pre-war Japanese engineers—such as Torikata Uichi, Yagi Hidetsugu, and Matsumae Shigeyoshi—who broke free from mere technological adoption and imitation. It sheds light on the driving forces that motivated these pioneers and the conditions that enabled their breakthroughs. By incorporating an examination of their failed visions and the constraints of their era, this study offers a penetrating analysis of their historic achievements in the history of technology. Recipient of the 38th Japan Society for the History of Industrial Technology Award (2025).

「後進国」は、発明された技術の利用者にとどまるのか。鳥潟右一や八木秀次、松前重義など、移植や模倣を脱した戦前の技術者たちの系譜を、彼らを突き動かした要因や跳躍を可能にした条件ともども明らかにする。挫折した構想や時代的制約も見据え、技術史的達成を冷静に分析した気鋭の力作。第38回日本産業技術史学会賞受賞 (2025)。