In Japan, as in other parts of the world, banking plays an essential role in economic development. Studying key industries such as banking provides an important tool for genuinely understanding a country. This book gives that understanding of Japan for the first time in English. It thoroughly documents Japanese banking during a crucial one-hundred years--from the opening of her borders to the world in 1859 through two world wars--from which the Japanese economy finally emerged as one of the most powerful global forces.