This dissertation examines civilian application of military technology in Japan after World War II. As a case study, I focus on the historical metamorphosis of wartime technology---such as military aircraft deployed for kamikaze suicide missions---into the highly successful Shinkansen high-speed bullet train. In retrospect, the shift in the socio-technological landscape in Japan after 1945 was drastic, spectacular, and unprecedentedly successful. Employing a bottom-up approach, I highlight the decentralized character of Japan's conversion process from wartime to postwar eras. Specifically, I examine the roles of former military engineers in the public research and development sector at the grass roots-level. The crucial variable in the conversion process, I argue, was the remarkable adaptability and flexibility of these engineers and their knowledge, especially in support of Japan's technological development. The course of the technological transformation was neither obvious nor preordained. It was largely idiosyncratic and contingent on numerous individual decisions and actions within the engineering community. At least the bullet train and other modern technological artifacts were a product of such development; postwar technological artifacts were essentially amalgamations, reproductions, and reconfigurations of pre-1945 technologies with little orchestrated effort from the top. The postwar conversion went beyond a mere shuffling of human and financial resources. Many efforts came from grass-roots activities among engineers. The society as a whole beat swords into plowshares, renouncing war with peace-oriented technology.
展开▼
