On September 4th we learned about Osaka and Singapore circa 1900. My focus will be on the former. Osaka was the most important commercial center of the Tokugawa era from 1600-1868, though its population stagnated in 1700 and did not increase much for the rest of the era. Japan entered the Meiji Restoration era in 1868, where it took inspiration from Europe and began industrializing. Osaka, as a result, went through rapid industrialization and experienced rapid population growth. Businesses like Osaka Spinning were founded and many mills were opened in the city. Mill owners tried expanding their influence globally by establishing mills in other countries, especially China. Their first attempts ended in failure, but by the 1900s they were successful in opening mills in China.

Young women were a prime target in recruitment for mills. Women working in mills were often under the age of twenty and their lives were miserable. Mills were actually one of the many institutions apart of Japan’s campaign to increase the birth rate by “‘disciplining” women into becoming “good wives and mothers.” In addition, midwives were also deployed to monitor women and abortion was highly illegal.