Reviews
An extremely well-researched study that is of great value to historians of twentieth-century Japan and historians of aviation.
Nishiyama is to be praised for the variety of sources he uses to study the role of engineers in the creation of modern Japan, both in times of war and peace. In particular, his work has benefited from personal interviews and correspondence with 18 former military engineers and their relatives, many connected with the Shinkansen project. This, along with reference to biographies and autobiographies, allows the author to construct a more human account of these technical problem solvers and their ability to adapt to the new demands of peacetime.
Nishiyama's work provides us with an important foundation that challenges historians of technology of modern Japan and beyond to combine top-down and bottom-up methodologies in new and innovative ways.
How Japan came to develop such a train [the Romance Car SE3000] and its successor, the famous Shinkansen "bullet train," is the subject of [this] fascinating book by Takashi Nishiyama.
... Nishiyama's study represents a substantial contribution to the history of modern Japan.
... Engineering War and Peace in Modern Japan should be read by anyone interested in a complex aspect of the Pacific War and its consequences.
... This is a useful study and should be read by those interested in engineering cultures, postwar demilitarization, and the politics of technological innovation.
... This is a useful study and should be ready by those interested engineering cultures, postwar demilitarization, and the politics of technological innovation.
Legend has it that wartime aeronautical engineering converted to the success of a bullet train in postwar Japan. Takashi Nishiyama's approach includes those who contributed at all levels of technology, from engineers on down. His conclusions are solid and convincing.
Takashi Nishiyama addresses his path-breaking subject with meticulous care and admirable breadth of vision. His fascinating study offers penetrating insight into the wartime baseline of postwar Japan's impressive economic development—and, at the same time, helps place Japan firmly in the great debates about war, peace, and technology in our modern times.
Book Details
Acknowledgments
Notes on Transliteration
Introduction Technology and Culture, War and Peace
1. Designing Engineering Education for War, 1868–1942
2. Navy Engineers and the Air War, 1919–1942
3. Engineers
Acknowledgments
Notes on Transliteration
Introduction Technology and Culture, War and Peace
1. Designing Engineering Education for War, 1868–1942
2. Navy Engineers and the Air War, 1919–1942
3. Engineers for the Kamikaze Air War, 1943–1945
4. Integrating Wartime Experience in Postwar Japan, 1945–1952
5. Former Military Engineers in the Postwar Japanese National Railways, 1945–1955
6. Opposition Movements of Former Military Engineers in the Postwar Railway Industry, 1945–1957
7. Former Military Engineers and the Development of theShinkansen, 1957–1964
Conclusion: Legacy of War and Defeat
A Note on the Appendix and Sources
Appendix: List of Informants
Notes
Bibliography
Index