Korean kuzuya, 'German-style control' and the business of waste in wartime Japan, 1931-1945

This article shows how wartime conditions transformed the waste business in Japan. Hygiene regulations from 1900 to the 1920s followed by an influx of Korean migrant labour disrupted the traditional waste trade. The conquest of Manchuria opened up new export markets for Japanese waste and increased...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Business history 2022-06, Vol.64 (5), p.904-922
Main Author: Denton, Chad B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business
Economic conditions
Hygiene
International trade
Japanese economy
Korean migrants
Metals
Migrant workers
Mobilization
Nazi Germany
Nazism
Prices
Propaganda
recycling
Regulation
Surveillance
Trade
waste
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
cited_by
cites cdi_FETCH-LOGICAL-c344t-f26f8730fb3f4ed1eb67940d04db999089ab0f4ef34b55efc77d776e996232b13
container_end_page 922
container_issue 5
container_start_page 904
container_title Business history
container_volume 64
creator Denton, Chad B.
description This article shows how wartime conditions transformed the waste business in Japan. Hygiene regulations from 1900 to the 1920s followed by an influx of Korean migrant labour disrupted the traditional waste trade. The conquest of Manchuria opened up new export markets for Japanese waste and increased the demand for munitions, causing scrap metal prices to skyrocket. These new economic conditions created opportunities for Korean-owned waste businesses. In 1938 the Japanese Ministry of Commerce and Industry imposed a control system on kuzuya scrap dealers consciously modelled on Nazi Germany to keep scrap prices as low as possible and to prevent criminal activity through extensive surveillance. These price controls privileged wholesalers and harmed waste-pickers; Koreans remained in the trade because of their cheap labour. Economic mobilization under conditions of total war after 1941 temporarily rehabilitated the marginalized image of kuzuya in government propaganda, but the end of the war shattered that illusion.
doi_str_mv 10.1080/00076791.2020.1857739
format article
fullrecord <record><control><sourceid>proquest_cross</sourceid><recordid>TN_cdi_crossref_primary_10_1080_00076791_2020_1857739</recordid><sourceformat>XML</sourceformat><sourcesystem>PC</sourcesystem><sourcerecordid>2680370496</sourcerecordid><originalsourceid>FETCH-LOGICAL-c344t-f26f8730fb3f4ed1eb67940d04db999089ab0f4ef34b55efc77d776e996232b13</originalsourceid><addsrcrecordid>eNp9kD9PwzAQxS0EEqXwEZAsMXRpyjl24ngDVVD-VGKBicFyElukpHaxHVXh05OosDLd6e69d6cfQpcEFgQKuAYAnnNBFimkw6jIOKfiCE0IZzThghbHaDJqklF0is5C2AAQygAm6P3Zea0s_uy-u17N8Wyl_VbZJMS-1bhyNnrXzrCyNY4fGpddaKwOATuD9ypEjRs7ND42W42f1E7ZOSaCkoQIlp2jE6PaoC9-6xS93d-9Lh-S9cvqcXm7TirKWExMmpuCUzAlNUzXRJfDnwxqYHUphIBCqBKGjaGszDJtKs5rznMtRJ7StCR0iq4OuTvvvjodoty4ztvhpEzzAigHJvJBlR1UlXcheG3kzjdb5XtJQI4c5R9HOXKUvxwH383B11jjBjZ759taRtW3zhuvbNUESf-P-AE9HHdO</addsrcrecordid><sourcetype>Aggregation Database</sourcetype><iscdi>true</iscdi><recordtype>article</recordtype><pqid>2680370496</pqid></control><display><type>article</type><title>Korean kuzuya, 'German-style control' and the business of waste in wartime Japan, 1931-1945</title><source>International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)</source><source>EBSCOhost Econlit with Full Text</source><source>Taylor and Francis:Jisc Collections:Taylor and Francis Read and Publish Agreement 2024-2025:Social Sciences and Humanities Collection (Reading list)</source><source>Business Source Ultimate (EBSCOHost)</source><creator>Denton, Chad B.</creator><creatorcontrib>Denton, Chad B.</creatorcontrib><description>This article shows how wartime conditions transformed the waste business in Japan. Hygiene regulations from 1900 to the 1920s followed by an influx of Korean migrant labour disrupted the traditional waste trade. The conquest of Manchuria opened up new export markets for Japanese waste and increased the demand for munitions, causing scrap metal prices to skyrocket. These new economic conditions created opportunities for Korean-owned waste businesses. In 1938 the Japanese Ministry of Commerce and Industry imposed a control system on kuzuya scrap dealers consciously modelled on Nazi Germany to keep scrap prices as low as possible and to prevent criminal activity through extensive surveillance. These price controls privileged wholesalers and harmed waste-pickers; Koreans remained in the trade because of their cheap labour. Economic mobilization under conditions of total war after 1941 temporarily rehabilitated the marginalized image of kuzuya in government propaganda, but the end of the war shattered that illusion.</description><identifier>ISSN: 0007-6791</identifier><identifier>EISSN: 1743-7938</identifier><identifier>DOI: 10.1080/00076791.2020.1857739</identifier><language>eng</language><publisher>Liverpool: Routledge</publisher><subject>Business ; Economic conditions ; Hygiene ; International trade ; Japanese economy ; Korean migrants ; Metals ; Migrant workers ; Mobilization ; Nazi Germany ; Nazism ; Prices ; Propaganda ; recycling ; Regulation ; Surveillance ; Trade ; waste</subject><ispartof>Business history, 2022-06, Vol.64 (5), p.904-922</ispartof><rights>2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor &amp; Francis Group 2021</rights><rights>2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor &amp; Francis Group</rights><lds50>peer_reviewed</lds50><woscitedreferencessubscribed>false</woscitedreferencessubscribed><cites>FETCH-LOGICAL-c344t-f26f8730fb3f4ed1eb67940d04db999089ab0f4ef34b55efc77d776e996232b13</cites></display><links><openurl>$$Topenurl_article</openurl><openurlfulltext>$$Topenurlfull_article</openurlfulltext><thumbnail>$$Tsyndetics_thumb_exl</thumbnail><link.rule.ids>314,776,780,27901,27902,33200</link.rule.ids></links><search><creatorcontrib>Denton, Chad B.</creatorcontrib><title>Korean kuzuya, 'German-style control' and the business of waste in wartime Japan, 1931-1945</title><title>Business history</title><description>This article shows how wartime conditions transformed the waste business in Japan. Hygiene regulations from 1900 to the 1920s followed by an influx of Korean migrant labour disrupted the traditional waste trade. The conquest of Manchuria opened up new export markets for Japanese waste and increased the demand for munitions, causing scrap metal prices to skyrocket. These new economic conditions created opportunities for Korean-owned waste businesses. In 1938 the Japanese Ministry of Commerce and Industry imposed a control system on kuzuya scrap dealers consciously modelled on Nazi Germany to keep scrap prices as low as possible and to prevent criminal activity through extensive surveillance. These price controls privileged wholesalers and harmed waste-pickers; Koreans remained in the trade because of their cheap labour. Economic mobilization under conditions of total war after 1941 temporarily rehabilitated the marginalized image of kuzuya in government propaganda, but the end of the war shattered that illusion.</description><subject>Business</subject><subject>Economic conditions</subject><subject>Hygiene</subject><subject>International trade</subject><subject>Japanese economy</subject><subject>Korean migrants</subject><subject>Metals</subject><subject>Migrant workers</subject><subject>Mobilization</subject><subject>Nazi Germany</subject><subject>Nazism</subject><subject>Prices</subject><subject>Propaganda</subject><subject>recycling</subject><subject>Regulation</subject><subject>Surveillance</subject><subject>Trade</subject><subject>waste</subject><issn>0007-6791</issn><issn>1743-7938</issn><fulltext>true</fulltext><rsrctype>article</rsrctype><creationdate>2022</creationdate><recordtype>article</recordtype><sourceid>8BJ</sourceid><recordid>eNp9kD9PwzAQxS0EEqXwEZAsMXRpyjl24ngDVVD-VGKBicFyElukpHaxHVXh05OosDLd6e69d6cfQpcEFgQKuAYAnnNBFimkw6jIOKfiCE0IZzThghbHaDJqklF0is5C2AAQygAm6P3Zea0s_uy-u17N8Wyl_VbZJMS-1bhyNnrXzrCyNY4fGpddaKwOATuD9ypEjRs7ND42W42f1E7ZOSaCkoQIlp2jE6PaoC9-6xS93d-9Lh-S9cvqcXm7TirKWExMmpuCUzAlNUzXRJfDnwxqYHUphIBCqBKGjaGszDJtKs5rznMtRJ7StCR0iq4OuTvvvjodoty4ztvhpEzzAigHJvJBlR1UlXcheG3kzjdb5XtJQI4c5R9HOXKUvxwH383B11jjBjZ759taRtW3zhuvbNUESf-P-AE9HHdO</recordid><startdate>20220613</startdate><enddate>20220613</enddate><creator>Denton, Chad B.</creator><general>Routledge</general><general>Taylor &amp; Francis Ltd</general><scope>AAYXX</scope><scope>CITATION</scope><scope>8BJ</scope><scope>FQK</scope><scope>JBE</scope></search><sort><creationdate>20220613</creationdate><title>Korean kuzuya, 'German-style control' and the business of waste in wartime Japan, 1931-1945</title><author>Denton, Chad B.</author></sort><facets><frbrtype>5</frbrtype><frbrgroupid>cdi_FETCH-LOGICAL-c344t-f26f8730fb3f4ed1eb67940d04db999089ab0f4ef34b55efc77d776e996232b13</frbrgroupid><rsrctype>articles</rsrctype><prefilter>articles</prefilter><language>eng</language><creationdate>2022</creationdate><topic>Business</topic><topic>Economic conditions</topic><topic>Hygiene</topic><topic>International trade</topic><topic>Japanese economy</topic><topic>Korean migrants</topic><topic>Metals</topic><topic>Migrant workers</topic><topic>Mobilization</topic><topic>Nazi Germany</topic><topic>Nazism</topic><topic>Prices</topic><topic>Propaganda</topic><topic>recycling</topic><topic>Regulation</topic><topic>Surveillance</topic><topic>Trade</topic><topic>waste</topic><toplevel>peer_reviewed</toplevel><toplevel>online_resources</toplevel><creatorcontrib>Denton, Chad B.</creatorcontrib><collection>CrossRef</collection><collection>International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)</collection><collection>International Bibliography of the Social Sciences</collection><collection>International Bibliography of the Social Sciences</collection><jtitle>Business history</jtitle></facets><delivery><delcategory>Remote Search Resource</delcategory><fulltext>fulltext</fulltext></delivery><addata><au>Denton, Chad B.</au><format>journal</format><genre>article</genre><ristype>JOUR</ristype><atitle>Korean kuzuya, 'German-style control' and the business of waste in wartime Japan, 1931-1945</atitle><jtitle>Business history</jtitle><date>2022-06-13</date><risdate>2022</risdate><volume>64</volume><issue>5</issue><spage>904</spage><epage>922</epage><pages>904-922</pages><issn>0007-6791</issn><eissn>1743-7938</eissn><abstract>This article shows how wartime conditions transformed the waste business in Japan. Hygiene regulations from 1900 to the 1920s followed by an influx of Korean migrant labour disrupted the traditional waste trade. The conquest of Manchuria opened up new export markets for Japanese waste and increased the demand for munitions, causing scrap metal prices to skyrocket. These new economic conditions created opportunities for Korean-owned waste businesses. In 1938 the Japanese Ministry of Commerce and Industry imposed a control system on kuzuya scrap dealers consciously modelled on Nazi Germany to keep scrap prices as low as possible and to prevent criminal activity through extensive surveillance. These price controls privileged wholesalers and harmed waste-pickers; Koreans remained in the trade because of their cheap labour. Economic mobilization under conditions of total war after 1941 temporarily rehabilitated the marginalized image of kuzuya in government propaganda, but the end of the war shattered that illusion.</abstract><cop>Liverpool</cop><pub>Routledge</pub><doi>10.1080/00076791.2020.1857739</doi><tpages>19</tpages></addata></record>
fulltext fulltext
identifier ISSN: 0007-6791
ispartof Business history, 2022-06, Vol.64 (5), p.904-922
issn 0007-6791
1743-7938
language eng
recordid cdi_crossref_primary_10_1080_00076791_2020_1857739
source International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS); EBSCOhost Econlit with Full Text; Taylor and Francis:Jisc Collections:Taylor and Francis Read and Publish Agreement 2024-2025:Social Sciences and Humanities Collection (Reading list); Business Source Ultimate (EBSCOHost)
subjects Business
Economic conditions
Hygiene
International trade
Japanese economy
Korean migrants
Metals
Migrant workers
Mobilization
Nazi Germany
Nazism
Prices
Propaganda
recycling
Regulation
Surveillance
Trade
waste
title Korean kuzuya, 'German-style control' and the business of waste in wartime Japan, 1931-1945
url http://sfxeu10.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/loughborough?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF-8&ctx_tim=2025-02-22T07%3A42%3A16IST&url_ver=Z39.88-2004&url_ctx_fmt=infofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rfr_id=info:sid/primo.exlibrisgroup.com:primo3-Article-proquest_cross&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Korean%20kuzuya,%20'German-style%20control'%20and%20the%20business%20of%20waste%20in%20wartime%20Japan,%201931-1945&rft.jtitle=Business%20history&rft.au=Denton,%20Chad%20B.&rft.date=2022-06-13&rft.volume=64&rft.issue=5&rft.spage=904&rft.epage=922&rft.pages=904-922&rft.issn=0007-6791&rft.eissn=1743-7938&rft_id=info:doi/10.1080/00076791.2020.1857739&rft_dat=%3Cproquest_cross%3E2680370496%3C/proquest_cross%3E%3Cgrp_id%3Ecdi_FETCH-LOGICAL-c344t-f26f8730fb3f4ed1eb67940d04db999089ab0f4ef34b55efc77d776e996232b13%3C/grp_id%3E%3Coa%3E%3C/oa%3E%3Curl%3E%3C/url%3E&rft_id=info:oai/&rft_pqid=2680370496&rft_id=info:pmid/&rfr_iscdi=true