Abstract

Japan is the first Asian country to define clear boundaries between the economic and the philosophic thought. From 1600 to 1868 Tokugawa Shoguns adhered to international and domestic conservative policies. Nevertheless a cultural evolution was significant with original reinterpretations of the Chinese thought and vivid curiosity for the Western thought. Economy grew reaching the boundaries imposed by feudal institutions: the commodity economy developed along with markets, financial instruments and monetary circulation. At the outset Japanese and Western economic thoughts shared similar problems, but they developed differently. The Japanese thought remained focused on the income distribution, trade and monetary aspects, while little attention was paid to other themes developed by Western economists. Often aimed at defending the status quo and supporting policies, economic analysis did not became "theory". This paper surveys XVII-XIX century Japanese economists (Banzan, Arai, Ogyu, Dazai, Ishida, Honda, Kahio, Sato e Yokoi) within the framework of the economic and cultural evolution of that period.