History

　The Nihon Keizaishi Kenkyusho (Institute for Research in Economic History of Japan) has its origin in the Seminar of Economic History of Japan, which started in 1926 in the Department of Economics of the Kyoto Imperial University under the charge of Professor Eijiro Honjo.　In July 1929 the Keizaishi Kenkyukai (Society for the Study of Economic History) was organized, and in November issued the first number of its monthly journal entitled ‘Keizaishi Kenkyu’ (The Study of Economic History).

　 Drs. Eijiro Honjo and Iwao Kokusho, both professors of the Kyoto Imperial University, were the chief promoters of this Society. In December 1932, Dr. Kokusho planned the establishment of the Institute for Research in Economic History of Japan and at his own expense he bought land and built a building in the neighbourhood of the Kyoto Imperial University. The Institute was opened for research and other business on 15 May 1933. Dr. Honjo took office as the representative director and three other directors were Dr. Kokusho, Assistant Professor Naokatsu Nakamura and Professor Wataro Kanno.

　 The Institute carried out the wide business activities including the publication of the journal, Keizaishi Kenkyu (Study of Economic History) and Nihon Keizaishi Jiten　(The Dictionary of the Economic History of Japan) , but owing to the aggravation of the Second World War, the activities of the Institute became difficult and the publication of the Study of Economic History discontinued in January 1945.

　 After the war, although the Institute was transferred to Osaka University of Economics, it was very difficult to resume the activities. But the publication of the Bibliography of Economic History was resumed by Honjo and other pioneers. About in 1959, the Institute, as an organization of Osaka University of Economics, restarted the activities, in particular of the Bibliography of Economic History. In 1997 the institute began to edit and publish a new yearly journal entitled ’Keizaishi Kenkyu’ (Study of Economic History). Thanks to many pioneers’ efforts, the Institute celebrated the seventieth anniversary of its establishment in 2003.