The Industrial Revolution in England that took place from the second half of the 18th century to the first half of the 19th century was one of the most epoch-making events in the history of mankind. For many countries have, subsequently, experienced it and undergone a very drastic transformation of their own social framework. Until now, much effort has been devoted to the study of what effects the industrial revolution has had on the life of human beings, with the result that one could perceive the changing components of the agricultural revolution, the transport revolution, the srvice revolution et cetera. But there remains a very important area that former scholars have more often than not neglected. That is the market revolution which deals with the change from subsistence farming to the commodity market. Why do I propose such a new technical term of market revolution as a tool for the analysis of history? The teason is that the factory system which came about during the Industrial Revolution brought forth wage laborers and, therefore brought about the complete dissolution of subsistence farming. Wage laborers detached from agriculture had to buy commodities necessary for daily life, and that meant the necessity of a new market system. Terms as retailing revolution, consumer revolution, distribution revolution used by scholars as Peter Mathias, W. Hamish Fraser, Neil Mckendrick and others abound. Notwithstanding this, the reason why I propose the new term of market revolution is that these terms do not concentrate on the dissolution of subsistence farming on a world wide scale which the Industrial Revolution accomplished. It is one of the most important points in the study of the industrial revolution to make scientific research into the history of the separation of the retail and the wholesale markets, and the appearance of the one-stop shopping system et cetera.

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It was in Taisho 12 (1923) when the Central Wholesale Market Act was established. We have some studies on the history of the establishment of the Act, but little knowledge of the meaning of it, because the previous studies had little examined the historical meanings and relations between the Act and the capitalist society in Japan. After the end of the Russo-Japanese war, especially after World War I, the modern labourer class could live in the city with difficulty, and support his family with his own earnings. So, the Central Wholesale Market Act was es.tablished to supply the indispensable perishable foods with the city labourers. In this paper, we will make clear the historical meaning of the establishment of the Central Wholesale Market Act by investigating the following points. (1) the process of the establishment and development of the municipal retail markets, which were opened in 1918 or 1919, in the Big Six Cities (Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe). (2) the municipal market policies, namely, the problems of the improvements of the municipal retail markets and the settlement of the municipal wholesale market in the Big Six Cities after the depression in 1920. (3) the national policy for the problems of the improvement of the municipal retail market and the settlement of the municipal wholesale market. Through the investigation of the above points, we will get the historical meaning of the Central Wholesale Market Act that was enacted to be facilitate the reproduction of labourer class which was of vital importance in maintaining a capitalist society.

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the following problems. First, what were the conditions of the modernization of the perishable food market in Japan? Secondly, how did the wholesalers' function change in the process of the establishment of the central wholesale market? Thirdly, what influences were exerted by the central wholesale market on the marketing in producing areas or in the retail market? The conditions of modernization of the perishable food market were developed by the establishment of the industrial capital, concentration of population in the big cities, and increasing demand for perishable food in the period from the end of Meiji to the biginning of Taisho. In this period the production of fruits and vegetables developed on a commercial basis, and specialized retailers selling perishable food were formed in big cities. Under these conditions premodern activities in transaction by wholesalers gradually deminished. In 1923 a public law "the Central Wholesale Market Act" was enacted. Moderu wholesale facilities were provided by the public investment in major big cities. In these newly-built public institutions wholesalers and middlemen started transactions of perishable food. The main function of the central who-lesale market was adjustment of supply and demand, forming equilibrium prices in wholesaling. The principles of sale there consisted in auction and the official announcement of wholesale prices. Such a modernization of wholesale market led to the promotion of the development of cooperative shipment in producing areas and the retail market of perishable food.

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In Liverpool, the first municipal markethall, St. John's market was established in 1822. As the working class increased in population in northern industrial cities, they needed a different type of daily necessaries market. That is, in the damp, filthy atmosphere of the industrial north, together with working hours which left most of the population only the night time for shopping, the need for a completely covered, gas-lit market hall was a more pressing priority than in the rural market town (D. ALEXANDER, Retailing in England during the Industrial Revolution. 1970). In the 1840 s and after, wholesale markets Were established separately. In the 1930 s, Liverpool municipal corporation managed twelve markets, eight of which had been established in the 19 th century, and only four of which were established in the 20th century. Now we can say that Liverpool built up the foundation of the municipal markets in the latter half of 19th century.

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The main aim of our symposium was to re-examine the economic significance of domestic structure of distribution concerning the perishable food wholesaler from a new viewpoint, i. e. to re-evaluate the wholesale markets as a basal condition of making provision of perishable food for labor family after the industrial revolution. Ih this paper I have attempted to survey the modernization of the former type of markets, namely, that is regarded as a necessary means of livelihood (Lebensmittel), under the "Genchiku-ki" and the industrial revolution in the Meiji era. Firstly based on 75 prefectural market rules (Fu-ken Ichiba Kisoku), I tried to make Table 6 which shows the official grants of food wholesale markets in 39 prefectures before 1922. In this fable we can find the facts that most of all rules were not only police one but also economic institutions. That is, during the Meiji era the increasing appearance of fish, fruits and vegetables markets, as well as the desire for official rules to promote public order and benefit, led the prefecture to include in their market rules provisions extending protection to old merchant capitals in the brotherhood union, as well as to the municipal corporation in the holding of his privilege. The second half of my article is devoted to the analysis of the administrative development of three official fish markets, namely, Ohmori, Iriyamazu and Haneda, which is contiguous to each other, in Tokyo prefecture in Genchikuki. In this case study, which is based on the original documents i. e. the disputes about holding the authorized markets involving the fish wholesaler in Nihonbashi fish market, leading role of old fish merchant capital forming the system of one village, one market and one dealing party is strikingly impressive. In other words, the birth of official market was an authentic example of the modernizdtion of perishable food merchant capital in Japanese modern community.

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