Abstract
The purposes of this study are to consider the effect on labor problem related to the development process of semi-workmanship program in Yokosuka Naval Arsenal which had the longest history of naval arsenals in Japan, in terms of the recognitions of the naval authorities to the labor dispute, and to characterize the semi-workmanship program in Yokosuka Naval Arsenal. The main methodology used in this study consists of an analysis of the digital database provided by Japan Center for Asian Historical Records, National Archives of Japan. The database is official documents of the Japanese Cabinet, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the Army and Navy from the Meiji era to closing years of World War II during the Showa era. As the result of the analysis, the following three points became clear. First, the semi-workmanship program was formed in 1924 through the development of rules and facilities with the beginning in 1894. Second, the semi-workmanship program was recognized by the naval authorities as the most effective countermeasure for the labor problem. Third, the semi-workmanship program was characterized by academic education in naval arsenal as well as vocational education, and training of the workmanship moral accommodated in the dormitory.
