Title:	Diversification and Convergence: The Development of locomotive technology in Meiji Japan
Speaker:	Professor Naofumi Nakamura (Senior Associate Director, Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo)
Date and time:	January 19, 2018 (Fri.), 3:00-5:00PM
Venue:	First Meeting Room (3F), The Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, University of Tokyo
Language:	English

GJS Lecture Report

On January 19, 2018, Professor Naofumi Nakamura, Senior Associate Director of the Institute of Social Science at the University of Tokyo, gave a talk entitled "Diversification and Convergence: The Development of locomotive Technology in Meiji Japan" at the Global Japan Studies Lecture Series. The talk was chaired by Professor Shigeto Sonoda of the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia. In his talk, Professor Nakamura traced the process of Japan's railway technology development which he divided into four stages and analyzed the characteristics of each stage. With various figures and graphs, his talk provided a clear picture of how Japanese locomotive and railway technology has evolved during the Meiji period and how Japan has achieved original and innovative design by absorbing and learning from foreign technologies. Professor Sonoda and the audience joined the lively discussion following the talk. They shared their ideas and thoughts on patent issue concerning foreign technology transferring, the relation between railway and mindset of punctuality and various other topics.

Pictures of GJS Lecture Series