著者

林田 治男

出版者

大阪産業大学

雑誌

大阪産業大学経済論集 (ISSN:13451448)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.11, no.1, pp.19-70, 2009-09

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Edmund Morel, the first Engineer-in-Chief of Imperial Railways of Japan, has been respected in Japan. At the beginning of the Meiji era, he proposed to Hirobumi Ito, the Second Assistant Minister of Finance, to establish a ministry for public works, a institution of higher education, and to use domestic products. His propositions were adopted by the Japanese Government immediately and contributed to development of Japanese society. Unfortunately he died 30 years before the opening of the Railway. He was engaged in his duty for only 19 months. Therefore, almost all Japanese has appreciated his accomplishments and felt saddened by his early death. Many Japanese writers make reference to his career, such as when and where he was born, what he studied at college, how he practiced as an engineer before coming to Japan, why he came to Meiji Japan, and who his wife was. It is very curious that almost all of them have provided incorrect accounts with scarce sources or no evidence. On the contrary, Mr. Yoshihiko Morita traces his career using the original documents and succeeds in correcting previous accounts. I corroborate Mr. Morita's assertions and further augment his findings on Morel's career, specifically regarding family environment, school record, and practical engineering. In this article I refer to the preceding writings on Morel's career chronologically by field, and point out the wrong descriptions. I investigate why they failed to explain his career correctly and followed incorrect versions without questioning their veracity. We must utilize and verify the relevant original records and make references definitely.