Abstract
Japanese people have typically been regarded as historically too poor and too embedded in a subsistence economy to have engaged in a ‘consumer revolution’ such as preceded and accompanied the Industrial Revolution in Europe. However, while household subsistence production certainly continued, output of manufactured and processed consumer products was clearly increasing and there is definite evidence of a growing market for ‘luxuries’ such as sugar, tea, and soy sauce, as well as of the diffusion of fashion, especially in commercially produced silk and cotton textiles. As a result, whatever its limitations, the domestic consumer market represented the main source of demand for the output of Japanese producers, while households continued to find ways to intensify the use of their labour so as to increase their consumption, in their version of the industrious revolution.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.