In the
history of mathematicsThe area of study known as the history of mathematics is primarily an investigation into the origin of discoveries in mathematics and, to a lesser extent, an investigation into the mathematical methods and notation of the past....
,
Japanese mathematics or
wasan , denotes a genuinely distinct kind of mathematics developed in
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
during the
Edo PeriodThe , or , is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868 and is the premodern era. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. The period ended with the Meiji Restoration, the...
(1603-1867) when the country was isolated from European influences. For instance, Kowa Seki found
calculusCalculus is a discipline in mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental...
at a similar time to his European counterparts. At the beginning of the Meiji era (1868-1912) the country opened up to the West and adopted Western mathematics which led to a decline of the ideas used in wasan.
Its achievements included some very refined results in integral calculus.
- Kambei Mori
was a Japanese mathematician of the early Edo period. In his early years he studied arithmetic in China. After his return to Japan he started a school and wrote several influential math books in particular dealing with arithmetic and the use of the abacus. One of his students was Yoshida Mitsuyoshi...
- developed arithmetical methods for the sorobanThe is an abacus developed in Japan. It is derived from the suanpan, imported from China to Japan around 1600. Like the suanpan, the soroban is still used today, despite the proliferation of practical and affordable pocket electronic calculators.-Construction:...
(Japanese abacus)
- Yoshida Koyu
or Yoshida Kōyū was a Japanese mathematician. He was a student of Mōri Shigeyoshi and the author of the arithmetic book Jinkōki....
(1598-1672)
- Seki Kowa (1642-1708) - circle principle (enri) which represents a crude form of integral calculus
- Takebe Kenko
Takebe Katahiro or Takebe Kenkō was a Japanese mathematician. He was student of Seki Takakazu and played critical role in the development of theEnri - a crude analogon to the western calculus....
(1664-1739)
- Matsunaga Ryohitsu (fl.
Discussion
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In the
history of mathematicsThe area of study known as the history of mathematics is primarily an investigation into the origin of discoveries in mathematics and, to a lesser extent, an investigation into the mathematical methods and notation of the past....
,
Japanese mathematics or
wasan , denotes a genuinely distinct kind of mathematics developed in
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
during the
Edo PeriodThe , or , is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868 and is the premodern era. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. The period ended with the Meiji Restoration, the...
(1603-1867) when the country was isolated from European influences. For instance, Kowa Seki found
calculusCalculus is a discipline in mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental...
at a similar time to his European counterparts. At the beginning of the Meiji era (1868-1912) the country opened up to the West and adopted Western mathematics which led to a decline of the ideas used in wasan.
Its achievements included some very refined results in integral calculus.
Important wasan mathematicians
- Kambei Mori
was a Japanese mathematician of the early Edo period. In his early years he studied arithmetic in China. After his return to Japan he started a school and wrote several influential math books in particular dealing with arithmetic and the use of the abacus. One of his students was Yoshida Mitsuyoshi...
- developed arithmetical methods for the sorobanThe is an abacus developed in Japan. It is derived from the suanpan, imported from China to Japan around 1600. Like the suanpan, the soroban is still used today, despite the proliferation of practical and affordable pocket electronic calculators.-Construction:...
(Japanese abacus)
- Yoshida Koyu
or Yoshida Kōyū was a Japanese mathematician. He was a student of Mōri Shigeyoshi and the author of the arithmetic book Jinkōki....
(1598-1672)
- Seki Kowa (1642-1708) - circle principle (enri) which represents a crude form of integral calculus
- Takebe Kenko
Takebe Katahiro or Takebe Kenkō was a Japanese mathematician. He was student of Seki Takakazu and played critical role in the development of theEnri - a crude analogon to the western calculus....
(1664-1739)
- Matsunaga Ryohitsu (fl. 1718-1749)
- Kurushima Yoshita (d. 1757)
- Arima Raido (1714-1783)
- Ajima Chokuyen (1739-1783)
- Aida Ammei (1747-1817)
- Sakabe Kohan (1759-1824)
- Hasegawa Ken (c. 1783-1838)
- Wada Nei
Wada Yenzō Nei was a Japanese mathematician. He was born in Yedo in the province Harima under the name of Kōyama Naoaki. In his early years he served in a buddhist temple in Yedo under the name Zōjōji. When he left the temple he changed his name for unknown reasons to Wada Nei and worked under the...
(1787-1840)
- Shiraishi Chochu (1796-1862)
- Koide Shuki (1797-1865)
- Omura Isshu (1824-1871)
See also
- Idai, the custom of adding very hard problems at the end of wasan books
- Sangaku
Sangaku or San Gaku are Japanese geometrical puzzles in Euclidean geometry on wooden tablets created during the Edo period by members of all social classes...
, the custom of presenting mathematical problems, carved in wood tablets, to the public in shinto shrines
- Soroban
The is an abacus developed in Japan. It is derived from the suanpan, imported from China to Japan around 1600. Like the suanpan, the soroban is still used today, despite the proliferation of practical and affordable pocket electronic calculators.-Construction:...
, a Japanese abacusThe abacus, also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool used primarily in parts of Asia for performing arithmetic processes. Today, abacuses are often constructed as a bamboo frame with beads sliding on wires, but originally they were beans or stones moved in grooves in sand or on tablets...
- Enri (a Japanese analogon to the western calculus)
:Category:Japanese mathematicians
External links