List of Graphs and Tables1 The Concept Labour-intensive Industrialization1 Introduction2 A Rather Undisputed but Disputable Concept3 A Precursor? The Industrious Revolution of Akira Hayami4 The Industrious Revolution of Jan de Vries5 From Industrious Revolution to Kaoru Sugihara's Labour-intensive Industrialization2 Debatable Assumptions about `Western' Industrialization An Empty Dichotomy1 Introduction2 Different Trajectories and Outcomes3 Different Capital- and Energy Intensities4 Industriousness in the West, before and during Industrialization5 Was the `Western' Route Really Capital- and Energy-Intensive?6 Was the `Western' Route Really a Consequence of High Wages?7 Was `Western' Industry Really an Urban Phenomenon?8 Continuity and Change. Was `Western' Industrialization Really Large Scale?9 Continuity and Change. Was `Western' Industrialization Really an Encompassing Revolutionary Transformation?10 Matters of Definition, Measurement and Comparison. Some Preliminary Comments3 Debatable Assumptions about the Abundance, Industriousness and Skills of Labour in Industrializing Japan1 Introduction2 Was Labour Abundant in Industrializing Japan?3 Discussions about the Existence of a Labour Surplus and Its Consequences4 Problems in Finding and Keeping Labour5 Different Levels and Consequences of Transience6 Was Labour in Industrializingjapan Industrious? A Quantitative Approach6.1 Days of Work6.2 Hours of Work6.3 Participation Rates: Males, Females and Children7 Was Labour in Industrializing Japan Industrious in the Sense of Diligent and Dedicated?8 Was Labour in Industrializing Japan Skilled?4 Was Labour in Industrializing Japan `Cheap'?1 Introduction2 Direct and Indirect Payments to Labour3 The Costs of Fixed Capital4 The Costs of Raw Materials, as Compared to Other Costs5 Was Japanese Industrial Labour Cheap Considering Its Productivity?6 Differing Assessments of the Effects of Low Wages on Japan's Economic Development7 Intermezzo: Labour Productivity at the National Level8 Basic Data with Regard to the Silk and Cotton Industries5 Labour Intensity and Labour (In)Efficiency in the Silk and Cotton Industries1 Introduction2 Developments in the Silk Industry3 Developments in the Cotton Industry until World War One4 The Cotton Textile Industry after World War One: Increasing Capital Intensity, Rationalization, and Wages Lagging behind Increases in Productivity5 Staffing and Labour Productivity in the Cotton Textile Industry in the 1920s and 1930s at the Factory Level According to Western Observers6 Quickly Catching Up and Even Forging Ahead from the Beginning of World War One Onwards7 Other Causes of Growth Apart from Low Labour Costs and Quickly Rising Labour Productivity6 Labour Intensity Measurements and Comparisons1 Introduction2 Capital Stock3 Matters of Scale4 Capital Formation5 Saving and Interest Rates6 Labour Shares, Gini Coefficients and Consumption7 Some Comments on Energy Intensity8 Labour Intensity and Industrial Structure9 Labour Intensity and Trade Structure7 Coda: The Transition to Western Levels of Wealth8 Concluding Remarks and AfterthoughtsAppendix 1Appendix 11BibliographyIndex of SubjectsIndex of PeopleIndex of Places