It is generally said that modern times started around the end of the Edo period to Meiji Restoration, but there is another opinion that the modern times started in the first half of 18th century when the household-based handcraft industry started.
近代の始期は一般に幕末期〜明治維新期とされるが、18世紀前半の家内制手工業の勃興を近代の始まりとする考えもある。