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Japan was the only non-Western nation to industrialize before 1900 and its leap into the modern era has stimulated debates among historians and social scientists. In a discussion that posits the importance of physical well-being as a key indicator of living standards, the text considers daily life in the three centuries leading up to modern era in Japan. It concludes that people lived much better than has been previously understood - at levels equal or superior to their western contemporaries. It goes on to illustrate how this high level of physical well-being has important consequences for Japan's ability to industrialize rapidly and for the comparatively smooth transition to a modern, industrial society.