The formation of the Japanese railway network in the 1890s: the case of the Kobu line

Preface: Professor Masahiro Satō of the Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University, presented this paper at a special session of the joint LSE-SOAS seminar series 'Japanese Economy and Society in Comparative Historical Perspective, held on 14 March 1990 at STICERD. The seminar organisers are very grateful to Professor Satō for permitting his paper to appear as a STICERD Japanese Studies discussion paper.