regions.toml

[Japan]
name = "Japan"
description = """

Our results converge with qualitative and quantitative assessments of economic development Bassino et al.
(2019); Farris (2009); Nakabayashi et al. (2020) (see Fig. 10). 

We observe a rise of cultural production from the 7th c. (Nara era) to the 10th c. (Heian era) during which it is estimated that GDP per capita
increased by 80% Bassino et al. (2019); Nakabayashi et al. (2020). We also observe a continuous rise of
cultural production from the 16th c. onward during which it is estimated that population tripled (from 10
to 32 million people), GDP per capita increased by 80%, urbanization was multiplied by 5 from 2.5% to
12,5%, with the size of Tokyo and Osaka rivaling that of London or Paris Bassino et al. (2019); Nakabayashi
et al. (2020). Whereas the previous estimates of the GDP per capita showed extended stagnancy between
the ninth and 14th c., our results converge with the most recent study, showing a sharp decline in the 12th
century and recovery from the 13th to 16th centuries Nakabayashi et al. (2020). 

In line with this study Nakabayashi et al. (2020), our results also suggest that the recovery of the economic development began in
the 13th during the Kamakura shogunate, earlier than what was previously estimated.

Our result also allows to have finer temporal estimation. For instance, we observe that the isolation of
the country (the sakoku policy) starting in 1633 did not impact economic cultural production. At the other
end of the period, we can see that cultural production was already very robust before the Meiji reforms
(1868). 

Also, we document the relative importance of the Kanta and Kansai plains in Japanese history, and
the progressive shift from the East to the West (see Fig. 11). Despite the political domination of the Kansai
plain from the 13th onward, the shift in cultural production only occurred during the late 18th c. (Edo
period)


"""
time_range = [800, 1800]