Abstract
During the first decade of the twentieth century about fifteen Japanese sericultural experts were employed by the Thai government to improve sericultural techniques in the northeastern region of Thailand. Manjiro Inagaki, the first Japanese resident ambassador to Thailand, was instrumental in getting the Thai government to hire these Japanese. He was concerned about the encroachment of European powers and strongly advised the government to send Japanese sericultural experts to the northeastern region to deter French expansionism.
For about ten years under the guidance of Prince Phenphatthanaphong the Japanese sericultural experts did much to diffuse agricultural knowledge, spread new sericultural techniques, promote the establishment of an agricultural school, and train Thai experts. W. A. Graham, the adviser to the Thai Ministry of Agriculture, complained that the efforts of this group only had the effect of decreasing silk cultivation wherever they had been applied, and the government, finding itself unable to lead or force its people to make improvements, abandoned the whole project and left the silk growers on their own. Graham scathingly criticized the Japanese for not producing any permanent results and for using methods which were both complicated and wasteful.
The Japanese, however, received the understanding and cooperation of Prince Phenphatthanaphong, and together they fostered capable agricultural officials and laid the foundation for Kasetsart University in Bangkok.
