Mathematics and Renaissance in Japan

Abstract

Prior to the Japanese renaissance of the seventeenth century, the history of mathematics in Japan is a relatively standard story of a mathematics of survival. In the period prior to the influx of Chinese learning in the sixth century, the Japanese had developed such tools as number mysticism, and a system of numeration that extended to very high powers of ten. Between the sixth and sixteenth centuries, no major mathematical works were produced. However, various signs of mathematical activity are evident. The “father of Japanese arithmetic”, Shotoku Taishi, flourished in the seventh century. The eighth century was aperiod of temporary cultural florescence, and this was reflected in the establishment of a university system by Emperor Monlu which included mathematical studies. The mathematics curriculum was based on nine Chinese mathematical treatises, including the Chou-pei and the Chiu-shu. But the samurai did not value commerce and considered the ability to manipulate numbers a sign of low birth. Three of the most important figures in the history of Japanese science and mathematics lived during the period 500 to 1600, Tenjin, Michinori, and Gensho. Tenjin was a patron of science in the court of Emperor Uda (888-898). Michinori’s name is associated with a mathematical theory, Keishi-zan, which dealt with permutations. He flourished in the Hogen period, 1156-1159.