Abstract
The aim of this discussion paper is to describe the data set entitled The Resting Fields Alliance of Ten Salt-making Provinces of Japan (1809–1888) available via Nakala repository. This dataset, along with the present discussion paper, is designed to support and enhance research work on the shifts in the salt industry between 1809 and 1888. The data were produced produced with the goal of enabling historical social network analysis (SNA), data visualization and other forms of data exploration, including but not limited to hypothesis testing. This data set is available under the Open Data Commons Open Database License (ODbL-1.0) to support the replicability of historical analysis in progress and forthcoming in the domain of history of industry and enterprise in 19th-century Japan.
The discussion paper provides the research context that enabled data production as well as a description of data harvesting and input protocols used in the course of data production. In line with Open Science principles, including standards of findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability, the ambition of this discussion paper, as well as the dataset, is to contribute to new standards of reproducibility in the discipline of history and in the field of Asian Studies.