For decades, Japan has been at the cutting edge of much technology, becoming an industrial superpower in the process. It is not widely acknowledged, however, that Japan's status as technological leader is the result of historical processes over centuries. This landmark book is the first general English-language history of technology in modern Japan. Impressive for its scope and insight, the book also considers the social costs of rapid technological change. It will be read not only by people interested in modern and premodern Japan, but by those who wish to learn from the "Japanese phenomenon."