History of science and technology in Japan

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This article is about the history of science and technology in modern Japan.

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In the natural sciences, the number of Japanese winners of the Nobel Prize has been second only to the United States in the 21st century, for contributions made in the 20th century. On the list of countries by research and development spending, Japan is third on the list, behind the United States and China.

In 1952, Kenichi Fukui published a paper in the Journal of Chemical Physics titled "A molecular theory of reactivity in aromatic hydrocarbons."^[1] He later received the 1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his investigations into the mechanisms of chemical reactions, with his prize-winning work focused on the role of frontier orbitals in chemical reactions, specifically that molecules share loosely bonded electrons which occupy the frontier orbitals, that is the Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO) and the Lowest Unoccupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO).^{[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]}

Ryōji Noyori was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his "work on chirally catalyzed hydrogenation reactions"^[9] in 1968.^[10]

In the 1960s and 1970s, green fluorescent proteins (GFP), along with the separate luminescent protein aequorin (an enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of luciferin, releasing light), was first purified from Aequorea victoria and its properties studied by Osamu Shimomura.^[11] He was awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP".^[12]

Koichi Tanaka was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of soft laser desorption, "methods for identification and structure analyses of biological macromolecules" and for "soft desorption ionisation methods for mass spectrometric analyses of biological macromolecules".^[13] In 1987, he demonstrated that laser pulses could blast apart large protein molecules so that ions in gaseous form are produced.^[14]

Hideki Shirakawa was awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for the discovery and development of conductive polymers".^[15]

In the 1930s, while studying switching circuits, NEC engineer Akira Nakashima independently discovered Boolean algebra, which he was unaware of until 1938. In a series of papers published from 1934 to 1936, he formulated a two-valued Boolean algebra as a way to analyze and design circuits by algebraic means in terms of logic gates.^[16][17]

In a landmark series of experiments beginning in 1976, Susumu Tonegawa showed that genetic material can rearrange itself to form the vast array of available antibodies.^[18] He later received the 1987 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for his discovery of the genetic principle for generation of antibody diversity."^[19]

Hideki Yukawa predicted the existence of mesons in 1934, for which he later received the 1949 Nobel Prize in Physics.^[20] Yoichiro Nambu was awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics for his 1960 discovery of the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics, related at first to the strong interaction's chiral symmetry (chiral symmetry breaking) and later to the electroweak interaction and Higgs mechanism.^[21]

The bottom quark is a product in almost all top quark decays, and is a frequent decay product for the Higgs boson. The bottom quark was theorized in 1973 by physicists Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa to explain CP violation.^[22] Toshihide Maskawa and Makoto Kobayashi's 1973 article, "CP Violation in the Renormalizable Theory of Weak Interaction",^[22] is the fourth most cited high energy physics paper of all time as of 2010.^[23] They discovered the origin of the explicit breaking of CP symmetry in the weak interactions. The Cabibbo–Kobayashi–Maskawa matrix, which defines the mixing parameters between quarks, was the result of this work. Kobayashi and Maskawa were awarded the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature."^[24]

Leo Esaki was awarded the 1 Nobel Prize in Physics^[25] for the discovery of electron tunneling (quantum tunnelling) in the 1950s.^[26] The tunnel diode (Esaki diode) was invented in August 1957 by Leo Esaki, Yuriko Kurose and Takashi Suzuki when they were working at Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo, now Sony.^{[26][27][28][29]}

Shin'ichirō Tomonaga was awarded the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics for his "fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics, with deep-ploughing consequences for the physics of elementary particles".^[30]

Masatoshi Koshiba was awarded the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics "for pioneering contributions to astrophysics, in particular for the detection of cosmic neutrinos"^[31] in the 1980s. He conducted pioneering work on solar neutrino detection, and Koshiba's work also resulted in the first real-time observation of neutrinos from the SN 1987A supernova. These efforts marked the beginning of neutrino astronomy.^[32]

The Rashomon effect is where the same event is given contradictory interpretations by different individuals involved. The concept originates from Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film Rashomon, where a murder is described in four mutually contradictory ways by its four witnesses.^[33]

For the first twenty years in the Meiji era, patents and inventions failed to attract much public attention. From the time of the Russo-Japanese War, largely through the action of the body known as the Imperial Invention Association, invention has been encouraged by the Government. With the outbreak of the First World War, imported manufactured goods were cut off, as was the inflow of foreign technology, and, as a consequence, a number of new industries, especially in the heavy and chemical sectors, were set up. Existing firms also took advantage of the opportunity for technical development and the penetration of new markets. Several such companies were able to overcome the difficulties posed by economic depression and severe international competition. In 1935, at a time Japan experienced state of the art modernization entitled Shōwa Modan, the country ranked only behind the United States and Germany in the number of patents granted.^[34][35]

Vertical rice polishing machine

The rice polishing machines used today are based on the vertical power-driven the milling machine, which was invented by Riichi Satake (the founder of Satake Corporation 株式会社サタケ) in 1930. The condition of the rice after milling, the extent of the milling, and damage to the rice grains during the process affects every link in the production chain. Rice could now be polished more efficiently. The abrasive action of the vertical polishing machine reduced the number of broken grains and made polishing more even, making it possible to produce highly polished rice. Unlike the previous horizontal polishing machines, which are used for table rice, the vertical design used gravity to drop the rice through the center chamber, which was outfitted with a center grindstone coated with carborundum. Horizontal polishing machines have the rice grains rub each other, but the vertical Satake type polished the grain with the abrasive center roller to achieve a 40 percent polishing ration, removing 50 percent of the rice grain, revolutionizing the rice milling system and became the standard, resulting in more uniform, finely polished grains that did not chip or crack.^[36][37]

Dry cell

The world's first dry-battery was invented during the Meiji Era. The inventor was Yai Sakizou [ja]. Unfortunately, the company Yai founded no longer exists.^[38] An award was granted for a dry cell battery by Yai at the 1903 Fifth National Industrial Exhibition (第5回内国勧業博覧会) in Osaka, Japan. It seems that his award was given in recognition of the fact that his battery was already being exported to foreign countries.^[39]

Reactive lead oxides production method

In 1920 Genzo Shimadzu invents a "reactive lead oxides production method". Genzo's invention of the reactive lead powder manufacturing method in 1920 revolutionized the quality and cost of lead powder used in storage batteries. The manufactured lead powder was also used in anti-rust paints, which was even used on the Tokyo Skytree tower completed in 2012. For that invention, Genzo Jr. was selected as one of Japan's ten greatest inventors. He directed the company's efforts toward the development, independently, of a lead-powder production method, which was subsequently named the 'Production Method for Positive Response Lead Powder.' This was a simple and inexpensive method of industrial production, whereby a lump of lead was placed in a revolving iron drum while air was blown in. The ensuing oxidation of the lump of lead, and its breakdown into lead particles by the friction of the revolving drum, produced the positively charged lead powder. In addition to patenting various processes in Japan, Shimadzu registered patents in the major foreign countries. There were enquiries also concerning the implementation of patents for the Shimadzu production method in the US, Britain, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Canada, Australia and France, attesting to the strong international interest in this technology. At this point, however, Shimadzu became entangled in a patent dispute in the US. In June 1932, the US Supreme Court pronounced its final verdict and established the patent rights for the Shimadzu technology. Following this victory, implementation of patent rights were finalized in the US, Britain, and France; that is, contracts were concluded successively in these countries. A contract for the acquisition by Ost Lurgi of the Shimadzu technology option was signed in Frankfurt am Main on 1 June 1926. Fritz Haber was also present at this meeting. The company, Ost Lurgi located in Berlin, was established in March 1926 as a joint venture of Mitsubishi, Metallgesellschaft and Degussa AG [de]. The initiator of the establishing Ost Lurgi was Fritz Haber, inventor of the Haber Bosch process, who visited Japan in 1924, he thought highly of the standard of Japanese technology and originated a number of proposals for technico-industrial cooperation between Germany and Japan. One of his idealistic proposals gave rise to the establishment contract of Ost Lurgi. The purpose of Ost Lurgi was to transfer Japanese technology to Germany, but negotiations were drawn out, since the parties could not agree on conditions.^{[35][40][41][42]}

Cathode ray tube (CRT)

In 1924, Kenjiro Takayanagi began a research program on electronic television. In 1925, he demonstrated a cathode ray tube (CRT) television with thermal electron emission.^[43] In 1926, he demonstrated a CRT television with 40-line resolution,^[44] the first working example of a fully electronic television receiver.^[43] In 1927, he increased the television resolution to 100 lines, which was unrivaled until 1931.^[45] In 1928, he was the first to transmit human faces in half-tones on television, influencing the later work of Vladimir K. Zworykin.^[46]

TYK Wireless Telephone

In the era when there was only a Morse code wireless telegraph, the world's first practical "wireless telephone" to send voices wirelessly was invented in 1912, and successfully completed the first telephone call test in Japan. This device was called the "TYK-type wireless telephone" and was the first wireless telephone to be put into practical use in the world, and in 1913 it was installed in Toba and Kamishima, etc. (A remote island about 14 km from Toba) in Mie Prefecture. After a successful call experiment, a public communication service using wireless telephones started in 1916, with more than 15,000 practical calls. Later, the TYK wireless telephone won a foreign patent and contributed to the introduction of Japanese technology overseas.^[47] The commendation system of the Imperial Invention Association took effect through various expositions, exhibitions, prize contests and patent conventions. The first recipients were Uichi Torigata, Eitaro Yokoyama, and Sejiro Kitamura for the TYK wireless telephone.^[48] on 16 December 1914, the world's first public telephone service via a voice based wireless communications system got underway.^[49]

Meteor burst communications

The first observation of interaction between meteors and radio propagation was reported by Hantaro Nagaoka in 1929.^[50]

Yagi antenna

The Yagi-Uda antenna was invented in 1926 by Shintaro Uda of Tohoku Imperial University, Sendai, Japan, with the collaboration of Hidetsugu Yagi, also of Tohoku Imperial University. Yagi published the first English-language reference on the antenna in a 1928 survey article on short wave research in Japan and it came to be associated with his name. However, Yagi always acknowledged Uda's principal contribution to the design, and the proper name for the antenna is, as above, the Yagi-Uda antenna (or array).^[51]

NE-style phototelegraphy

Phototelegraphic equipment invented by Yasujiro Niwa that became the foundation of mechanical televisions and FAX machines in Japan. In November 1928, when Emperor Hirohito's Imperial Accession Ceremony was held, newspaper companies that had mulled over ways to deliver papers with photos (The first photo-telegraph to be sent using a leased line) of the ceremony throughout the nation as quickly as possible employed this phototelegraphic equipment with great success. In general use, the NEC-style photo-telegraph was used to send information such as pictures and handwriting.^[52]

Non-loaded Cable

The vital technology in Japan's effort to build a strategic communications link between the home islands and Manchukuo. The importance of this technological invention was not limited to Manchuria, it was the technological equivalent in Japan's new empire-building endeavor to the gutta-percha submarine cable in the creation of the British Empire. In the meantime, NLC would be heralded as a quintessential "Japanese-style technology" and a milestone in modern Japan's quest for technological autonomy. Even decades later, many in Japan were still convinced that "consistently in every step from invention to application, it was literally a domestically produced technology, worthy of international pride" and the development of NLC was "clearly the starting point of the leap forward of our telecommunications technology to the world's top level". In 1936, the Japanese government adopted non-loaded cable for the new Japan–Manchukuo cable network as well as for the long-distance communications networks in Japan, thus establishing the supremacy of the new technology in Japan. In the same year, Shigeyoshi Matsumae (松前重義 1901–1991) was awarded the Asano Prize by Japan's Association of Electrical Engineering for his ground-breaking contribution to the development of telecommunications technology. Named after one of Japan's first electrical engineers, who oversaw the laying of the submarine cable to Taiwan, the prize of 1,000 yen further consolidated the reputation of NLC as well as that of its chief inventor. Later that year, Matsumae received his doctoral degree from Tōhoku Imperial University. the NLC technology was "the greatest invention in Japan's telecommunications industry". Now recognized as Japan's unique contribution to the field of telephone transmission.^[53]

Digital circuits

From 1934 to 1936, NEC engineer Akira Nakashima introduced switching circuit theory in a series of papers showing that two-valued Boolean algebra, which he discovered independently, can describe the operation of switching circuits. Nakashima's switching circuit theory used digital electronics for Boolean algebraic operations.^{[16][17][54][55]} Nakashima's work was later cited and elaborated on in Claude Shannon's seminal 1938 paper "A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits".^[16] Nakashima laid the foundations for digital system design with his switching circuit theory, using a form of Boolean algebra as a way to analyze and design circuits by algebraic means in terms of logic gates. His switching circuit theory provided the mathematical foundations and tools for digital system design in almost all areas of modern technology, and was the basis for digital electronics and computer theory.^[17][55] Nakashima's work on switching circuit theory was further advanced by Claude Shannon in the United States during the late 1930s to 1940s,^[17][55] and by Goto Mochinori in Japan during the 1940s.^[56][57]

Screen grid valve

The first true screen-grid valve, with a screen grid designed for this purpose, was patented by Hiroshi Ando in 1919.^[58]

Double-coil bulb

In 1921, Junichi Miura created the first double-coil bulb using a coiled coil tungsten filament while working for Hakunetsusha (a predecessor of Toshiba). At the time, machinery to mass-produce coiled coil filaments did not exist, however Hakunetsusha developed a method to mass-produce coiled coil filaments by 1936.^[59]

KS steel

Magnetic resistant steel that is three times more resistant than tungsten steel, invented by Kotaro Honda.^[60] Honda's discovery formed an important basis for Japan's world-leading position in this field. Always been interested in magnetism, and after returning from studying at Göttingen University in Germany, he became a professor of Tohoku University in 1911. It was at Tohoku University that he invented cobalt steel. Later, he recalled the way he created this world-class material:

The structure of the alloy (cobalt steel) was basically created in my brain. It was not created merely by chance or by accident. Japanese researchers would do well to learn from my example.

The cobalt steel was named 'KS steel' in Japan, since these were the initials of Sumitomo Kichizaemon, the family head of the Sumitomo zaibatsu, who had donated generous funds for this research. In 1918, Sumitomo Steel Casting succeeded in producing KS steel commercially. This steel, although very expensive, was extremely advanced, and was widely exported to Europe and the United States. In the same year, the Institute of Iron and Steel Research (later known as the Institute of Metal Research), the first public research institute for metals, was founded at Tohoku University, and it became the centre for metal research in Japan.^[61]

MKM steel

MKM steel, an alloy containing nickel and aluminum, was developed in 1931 by the Japanese metallurgist Tokushichi Mishima.^[62][63]

BaTiO₃

Barium titanate (BaTiO₃) was discovered by T. Ogawa in 1943.^[64]

Hematite reduction process

The Anshan Iron Works of the South Manchurian Railway company, having an abundant supply of precisely this sort of low-ferrous, non-magnetic, and high-silica iron ore deposits, was looking for a technical breakthrough to exploit these deposits. Umene Tsunesaburo (later the Chief Engineer and Director), a young engineer of the Anshan Works, graduated from the Department of Metallurgy at Kyoto University in 1911 and went to the Yawata Works. In 1916, when the Anshan Works was established as a large integrated mill, Umene made his way into Manchuria. The operation of the first blast furnace (67 000 ton per year) began in 1919. When the post-First World War depression hit the works, however, South Manchuria Railroad Company (SMRC) decided to postpone the opening of Anshan's second blast furnace, and proposed construction of steel mills instead. In order to survive in the competitive and unstable iron market previously described, the Anshan Works hoped to reduce production costs by exploiting the abundant low ferrous iron ore deposits around the works. Umene was appointed as a researcher for this special project. In addition, in 1921 the works invited six American scholars and engineers, led by Dr W. R. Appleby, the Head of the Department of Metallurgy at Minnesota University, to research the feasibility of such a project in Manchuria. The team concluded that exploitation of the low quality deposits would not be commercial. Umene, however, did not give up on the calcinated magnetising method, which could achieve reduction and magnetising at the same time. He started his own research, using a theoretical scientific method. According to the chemical reaction formula, it was known that a non-magnetic iron ore chemically reacts and becomes magnetic if hermetically sealed and heated to over 1300 °C. This amount of energy consumption was not feasible, but Umene found that by putting a reducing agent in the ore, he could get the same chemical result at temperatures under 500 to 700 °C. He had only to decide the temperature and the amount of the reducing agent. Through careful experiments, he finally perfected the calcinating magnetisation method, and in June 1922, he took out a patent on the process. Because of this innovation, 90 per cent of even non-magnetic iron ore could be separated. Even more important, this innovation caused Japanese blast furnace engineers to recognise the importance of the preparation of iron ore. Kawasaki Steel's Chiba Works, established in 1950 as the first large integrated greenfield works after the Second World War, and a model of efficient works, was the most important example. Asawa Saburo, who had been instructed by Umene at the Anshan Works, became Factory Manager of Kawasaki's Chiba Works and refined the preparatory techniques. About this technological continuity and development, he wrote:

We thoroughly developed the preparatory process of raw materials at the Chiba Works after the Second World War. In order to process the powder ore, we introduced the pelletizing method, which contributes to high performance ironmaking here. There can be no doubt that I owe the installment of this series of new equipment largely to Dr Umene .... Great technological achievement is never confined within itself, nor does it become just a thing of the past. I learned here that such great innovations (as Umene's) will be continuously succeeded by various applications.

Kuroda coke oven

This furnace recovered by-products through a regenerative burning apparatus, invented by Kuroda Taizo (黒田泰造 1883–1961) in 1918, engineer at the Yahata Works, it was a revolutionary energy-saving oven based on an energy-recycling system. The oven also improved by-product processing and increased coke processing yields. By 1933, the energy efficiency of the eighth coke oven at the Yahata Works was almost equal to that of the most advanced coke oven in Germany. The improvement in the quality of coke was directly reflected in the energy efficiency of iron and steelmaking. In addition, energy recycling techniques such as reuse of the gas generated in the coke oven and blast furnaces were exploited by the system. These efforts helped reduce the energy consumption of the works. The coal consumption per ton of steel production sharply dropped to 1.58 kg in 1933 from 3.7 kg in 1924. Eventually, Kuroda's idea of energy saving and recycling became fundamental for Japanese steel engineers. In 1962, this technological heritage would produce one of the most important innovations, the Basic Oxygen Furnace Waste Gas Cooling and Clearing System, invented at Yawata Steel (a successor of the Yahata Works).^[61][66]

Aircraft Carrier

Hōshō was the world's first purpose-built aircraft carrier to be completed. She was commissioned in 1922 for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Hōshō and her aircraft group participated in the January 28 Incident in 1932 and in the opening stages of the Second Sino-Japanese War in late 1937.^[67]

Landing craft carrier

Shinshū Maru was the world's first landing craft carrier ship to be designed as such, to carry and launch landing craft making it a pioneer of modern-day amphibious assault ships. These concepts pioneered by Shinshū Maru persist to the current day, in the U.S. Navy's landing helicopter assault and landing helicopter dock amphibious assault ships.^[68][69]

Dock landing ship

The predecessor of all modern dock landing ships is Shinshū Maru of the Imperial Japanese Army, which could launch her infantry landing craft using an internal rail system and a stern ramp. She entered service in 1935 and saw combat in China and during the initial phase of Japanese offenses during 1942.^[70]

Diesel-powered tank

Japan was in the forefront of tank technology in the early 1930s when the land warfare found itself with state funding, introducing a number of innovations such as diesel tank engines. The world's first diesel-powered tank, this distinction goes to Japanese Type 89B I-Go Otsu, produced with a diesel engine from 1934 onwards.^[71]

Naval telegraphy

The Battle of Tsushima was the first naval battle in which wireless telegraphy (radio) played a critically important role.^[72] Wireless telegraphy played an important role from the start. At 04:55, Captain Narukawa of the Shinano Maru sent a message to Admiral Tōgō in Masampo that the "Enemy is in square 203". By 05:00, intercepted radio signals informed the Russians that they had been discovered and that Japanese scouting cruisers were shadowing them. Admiral Tōgō received his message at 05:05, and immediately began to prepare his battle fleet for a sortie.^[73]

Lieutenant Akiyama Saneyuki had been sent to the United States as a naval attaché in 1897. He witnessed firsthand the capabilities of radio telegraphy and sent a memo to the Navy Ministry urging that they push ahead as rapidly as possible to acquire the new technology.^[74] The ministry became heavily interested in the technology; however it found the cost of the Marconi wireless system, which was then operating with the Royal Navy, to be exceedingly expensive. The Japanese therefore decided to create their own radio sets by setting up a radio research committee under Professor Shunkichi Kimura, which eventually produced an acceptable system. In 1901, having attained radio transmissions of up to 70 miles (110 km), the navy formally adopted radio telegraphy. Two years later, a laboratory and factory were set up at Yokosuka to produce the Type 36 (1903) radios, and these were quickly installed on every major warship in the Combined Fleet by the time the war started.^[74]

Alexander Stepanovich Popov of the Naval Warfare Institute had built and demonstrated a wireless telegraphy set in 1900, and equipment from the firm Telefunken in Germany was adopted by the Imperial Russian Navy. Although both sides had early wireless telegraphy, the Russians were using German sets and had difficulties in their use and maintenance, while the Japanese had the advantage of using their own equipment.^[75]

Torpedo boat destroyer

Kotaka (Falcon), built in 1885.^[74] Designed to Japanese specifications and ordered from the Isle of Dogs, London Yarrow shipyard in 1885, she was transported in parts to Japan, where she was assembled and launched in 1887. The 165-foot (50 m) long vessel was armed with four 1-pounder (37 mm) quick-firing guns and six torpedo tubes, reached 19 knots (35 km/h), and at 203 tons, was the largest torpedo boat built to date. In her trials in 1889, Kotaka demonstrated that she could exceed the role of coastal defense, and was capable of accompanying larger warships on the high seas. The Yarrow shipyards, builder of the parts for Kotaka, "considered Japan to have effectively invented the destroyer".^[76]

Compressed oxygen torpedo

The Japanese began experimenting with oxygen-driven torpedoes about 1924, but gave up after numerous explosions and failures. Then, in 1927, an eight-man Japanese naval delegation went to the Whitehead Torpedo Works at Weymouth to study and buy a regular version of the Whitehead torpedo. While there, they believed that they had stumbled onto evidence that the Royal Navy was secretly experimenting with oxygen torpedoes. Although they were mistaken, the Japanese delegation was so impressed with the information they had gathered that they sent an extensive report back to Tokyo in 1928. By the end of that year, intensive research and experimentation had begun at the Kure Naval Arsenal on a workable oxygen torpedo. Starting in 1 932, this effort was led by Captain Kishimoto Kaneharu. Step by step, Captain Kishimoto and his colleagues began to attack the problems inherent in the design of such a weapon. Explosions were minimized by using natural air at the start of the engine's ignition, and oxygen was let in gradually to replace it. The men also took certain precautions to avoid contact between the oxygen and lubricants used in the torpedo's machinery. Particular care was given to the fuel lines. They were cleaned with a potassium compound to eliminate oil and grease and were redesigned to round out all sharp angles, and their linings were finely ground to eliminate all tiny pits where any residual oxygen, oil, or grease could accumulate. The first test firings of the system, incorporating an engine of standard Whitehead design but using oxygen in place of air, were successfully carried out in 1933. That year, the navy formally designated the weapon as the Type 93 torpedo, which has become known in the West as the "long-lance" torpedo, generally recognized as the best torpedo of World War II.^[77]

Ijuin fuse

This remarkable Japanese invention by Ijuin Gorō caused the shells to explode on impact rather than, like the Russian armour, simply penetrating the steel plating of enemy vessels and exploding below deck. It was not just the terrible effect of the explosive charge that caused panic. When the shells hit they immediately threw out a wall of fire over everything in range. The Japanese shelling was terrifying and to the watching eyes of the Russians what was hurtling towards them seemed to be carton after carton of liquid fire.^[78]

Shimose powder

A picric acid explosive that the Japanese had developed a new type of shell for. The shell was thin-skinned, allowing more space for the Shimose powder explosive 10 percent of the total weight of the shell instead of the normal 2–3 percent. These shells bore the name of furoshiki.^[78] Shimose Powder, with its compound treated as top secret, was adopted by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1893, not only for naval artillery but also for naval mines, depth charges and torpedo warheads. It played an important role in the Japanese victory in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 to 1905.^[79]

Forerunner of the modern flamethrower

Richard Fiedler refined his flamethrower designs, aided by engineer and soldier Bernhard Reddemann. The Japanese are credited with the first use of compressed gas to project a flammable liquid. As early as the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese army discovered that infantrymen were prone to suffer huge losses in front of well-guarded fortresses. They used animal organ oil and the kerosene was mixed and ignited, and the harmful gas produced was poured into the Russian defense building to force it to abandon the defense. Reddemann's interest in flame weapons had originally been sparked by reports from the battlefields of the 190450 Russo-Japanese War. During the siege of Port Arthur, Japanese combat engineers had used hand pumps to spray kerosene into Russian trenches. Once the Russians were covered with the flammable liquid, the Japanese would throw bundles of burning rags at them.^[80]

Automatic power loom with a non-stop shuttle-change motion

Sakichi Toyoda invented numerous weaving devices. His most famous invention was the automatic power loom in which he implemented the principle of Jidoka (autonomation or autonomous automation). It was the 1924 Toyoda Automatic Loom, Type G, a completely automatic high-speed loom featuring the ability to change shuttles without stopping and dozens of other innovations. At the time it was the world's most advanced loom, delivering a dramatic improvement in quality and a twenty-fold increase in productivity.This loom automatically stopped when it detected a problem such as thread breakage. This loom delivered the world's top performance in terms of productivity and textile quality. An engineer from Platt Brothers & Co., Ltd. of England, one of the world's leading manufacturers of textile machinery at the time, admiringly referred to this loom as "the magic loom".^[81]

Garabo spinning

Garabo [ja] (ガラ紡) indigenous technology as a transitional innovation between pre-modern cotton-spinning and industrial British-style spinning. The technical breakthrough for the design was attributed to the engineering genius of a single inventor and buddhist monk, Tokimune Gaun [