INTRODUCTION

TŌKYŌ MEIKŌ KAGAMI is a two-volume catalogue of highly skilled craftsmen (meikō) in the Tōkyō area (Fig. 1). It was published in 1879 and contains the names, ages, and residential areas of workers in craft firms, as well as the craft's field of production, its number of workers, and the history of the firm's establishment. The publication was considered to be a highly informative source for exploring craftsmen and craft works, as well as their career formation. The method of surveying was interviews with a precompiled questionnaire. The two volumes provide a summary of these interviews.

The title of the volumes, Tōkyō meikō kagami, contains three words: the place name Tōkyō; meikō, meaning highly skilled (literally “excellent”) craftsmen; and kagami, meaning “metal mirror.” The metal mirror metaphorically suggests successful model examples. The mirror reflects the actual state of one's form and forces one to recognize the conditions that must be improved and mastered. Tōkyō meikō kagami thus represents the models provided by the highly skilled craftsmen resident in Tōkyō – in other words, “model examples of highly skilled craftsmen in Tōkyō”.

A total of 650 craftsmen who met the selection criteria in the Tōkyō area were interviewed. Only one was a woman, a jewellery manufacturer who had completed her apprenticeship in Austria. Of these 650, I focus here on 106 metalworking craftsmen, utilizing the definition by Odaka. My sample included 22 foundry workers (imono-kō), 27 blacksmiths (kaji-kō), 31 preciousmetal ornament workers (kazari-kō), two tinsmiths, four electrical equipment manufacturers, 13 medical-instrument makers, two craftsmen who were familiar with the technology of the foundry (kinzoku chōkō), and three mechanics who manufactured fine equipment (zatsu-kōshō).

A survey carried out by the government in Tōkyō-fu in 1877, two years before the publication of Tōkyō meikō kagami, indicates that the total number of craftsmen resident in Tōkyō was 73,843. With respect to metalwork craftsmen, the total number resident in the Tōkyō area was 3,546. Accordingly, the proportion of highly skilled metalworkers registered in Tōkyō meikokagami was low. For this reason, the results of the following statistical analysis do not present an overall picture. However, they do provide insight into metalworking craftsmen of the transitional phase of ‘Japan's industrial apprenticeship.’