Japan's Economy by Proxy in the Seventeenth Century: China, the N ...

Acknowledgments

I would be extremely remiss in my filial and scholarly duties if I did not make reference to the considerable support I have received from several people in my life, support that has ultimately made this project possible. I must first extend my deepest gratitude to my parents who have throughout been extremely supportive of my academic career. Having toiled for more than forty years in the steel mills of East Chicago to support his family, my father will probably never truly understand how his son could, in good conscience, spend several years pursuing a PhD. Perhaps that is as good an indicator as any of the unconditional support that my parents have given me; therefore, I offer my humble thanks to my mother and father, without whose support I would certainly not be the person I am today.

Dale Lawrosky has been everything that a true friend should be. He will perhaps never know the influence that he has had on my life, nor just how much he has influenced my early years as an academic. Although not an academic himself, he taught me what it means to be passionate about learning and knowledge and to follow that passion throughout life. For his inspiration and friendship I shall be eternally grateful. At Purdue University, Professor Sally Hastings was a true mentor and a friend, and it is largely her fault that I chose to embark on the path of an historian of Japan. I was fascinated by her ability to relate effortlessly the history of a land that to me seemed (and at times seems) utterly alien.