Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining

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Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: A Testimony to Successful Western Technology Transfer

The Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding, and Coal Mining, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015, stand as a significant testament to Japan’s rapid industrialization during the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century. Comprising twenty-three component parts primarily situated in the southwestern region of Japan, these sites offer a unique insight into the process by which Japan sought technological advancements from Europe and America, adapting them to meet its own cultural and societal needs.

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UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

The site encompasses a series of twenty three component parts, mainly located in the southwest of Japan. It bears testimony to the rapid industrialization of the country from the middle of the 19^th century to the early 20^th century, through the development of the iron and steel industry, shipbuilding and coal mining. The site illustrates the process by which feudal Japan sought technology transfer from Europe and America from the middle of the 19^th century and how this technology was adapted to the country’s needs and social traditions. The site testifies to what is considered to be the first successful transfer of Western industrialization to a non-Western nation.

Encyclopedia Record: Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining

Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining are a group of historic sites that played an important part in the industrialization of Japan in the Bakumatsu and Meiji periods (1850s–1910), and are part of the industrial heritage of Japan. In 2009 the monuments were submitted jointly for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List under criteria ii, iii, and iv. The sites were accepted at the 39th UNESCO World Heritage session, under the condition to take measures "that allow an understanding that there were a large number of Koreans and others who were brought against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions ...", and again, such measures have yet to be implemented.

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