SOUTH MANCHURIA RAILWAY.

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Minami manshu tetsudo ryoko annai ("A Guide to Travel on the Railway"). First edition, first printing, of this scarce and profusely illustrated handbook for business and tourist travellers on the South Manchuria Railway, the economic powerhouse of Japan's East Asian empire. WorldCat records only three copies, all in Japanese institutions.The South Manchuria Railway Company was founded in 1906 under the direction of Goto Shinpei (1857-1929) to manage railway lines seized from Russia in the wake of the Russo-Japanese War. By the end of 1907, it already had 9,000 Japanese and 4,000 Chinese employees and, during its first decade of operations, the company invested in a range of industries including coal mining (including the major mine at Fushun), natural gas extraction, shipping, and hotels and hospitality. In 1917, the company took over management of the entire railway network in Japanese-controlled Korea, cementing its position as the backbone of Japan's imperial expansion between the wars.This guide focuses on major stops along the railway including Dalian, Fengtian, Changchun and Yingkou, together with descriptions of and directions to notable visiting spots. The maps and plans show the extent of the network, the layout of important destination cities, and the course of key battles in the Russo-Japanese war. A selection of the plates stress the vibrancy of Japanese economic development.

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