In the 1920s, a young Japanese academic made a pilgrimage to the west that would reshape the course of East Asia. At a time when his Chinese contemporaries were visiting Europe to work in factories and imbibe socialism at its source, Kaname Akamatsu was interested in how western Europe and the US had monopolised the industrial revolution.

Akamatsu's idea was to identify the best practices and technology. His most cherished souvenir from his trip was a mechanical computer, which he put to use working out how Japanese textile makers had gone from near extinction in the late 19th century to global dominance. Sound familiar? Asia's success stories have all taken pages from Japan's book.