Before the late 1960s, Japan historians characterized the Early Modern Japanese economy in waht are typical feudal terms. Considered backward and stagnant, it was argued that the economy eventually collapsed under the weight of its own internal limitations. This narrative has given way in the past two decades to a new interpretation in which Japan's pre-industrial economy is protrayed as one of substantive growth and qualitative change, the setting stage for modern development during the Meiji era.