Linking the history of industrial technology to socio-economic history : the case of the diffusion of marine oil engines in Japan(SPECIAL LECTURE)

Abstract

In the Meiji period, the transport of coal from Wakamatsu to Osaka via the Inland Sea began by native sailing boats. It was followed by the introduction of the tugboat method where- by a steamboat would pull several sailing boats, and then was replaced by sailing boats equipped with oil engines. As steamships could not enter shallow traditional ports, native sailing methods continued to be dominant despite government promotion of steamships. Even in Osaka, steamships anchored offshore, from which goods were lightered. Thus the deeper port of Kobe was increasingly used for vessels for overseas shipping, and lighters and tugboats carried goods and passengers between Kobe and Osaka. Meanwhile, large- scale dredging, repair, and improvement works of rivers and construction of a new port were carried out in Osaka, and eventually a unique port structure emerged whereby canal networks, created in the Tokugawa period, were connected by river tugboats to the new port, which was able to handle overseas shipping vessels. The diffusion of the hot bulb engine began with the introduction of the oil-engine-equipped river boat to these canals. This new engine soon became a favorite among fishermen and sailing boat owners. Local manufacturers readied themselves for its supply, and this in turn supported the growth of its use in domestic shipping.