Gakutensoku (學天則,

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

for "learning from the laws of nature"), the first

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may ...

to be built in the East, was created in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

in the late 1920s. The robot was designed and manufactured by biologist Makoto Nishimura (1883–1956, father of actor

Kō Nishimura was a Japanese actor who appeared in supporting roles in such films as Akira Kurosawa's ''The Bad Sleep Well'' and '' Yojimbo'', Kihachi Okamoto's ''Sword of Doom'', Yoshitaro Nomura's ''Zero Focus'', and Kon Ichikawa's '' The Burmese Harp'' ( ...

). Nishimura had served as a professor at Hokkaido Imperial University, studied

Marimo Marimo (also known as Cladophora ball, moss ball, or lake ball) is a rare growth form of ''Aegagropila linnaei'' (a species of filamentous green algae) in which the algae grow into large green balls with a velvety appearance. The species can be ...

and was an editorial adviser to the ''Osaka Mainichi'' newspaper (now the ''

Mainichi Shimbun The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...

'').

History

Concerned about the idea of robots seen as slaves to humans, particularly as portrayed in the play ''

R.U.R. ''R.U.R.'' is a 1920 science-fiction play by the Czech writer Karel Čapek. "R.U.R." stands for (Rossum's Universal Robots, a phrase that has been used as a subtitle in English versions). The play had its world premiere on 2 January 1921 in H ...

'', written by

Karel Čapek Karel Čapek (; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer, playwright and critic. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel '' War with the Newts'' (1936) and play '' R.U.R.'' (''Rossum's Universal ...

, Nishimura set out to build a different kind of robot, or as he called it, an "artificial human". The robot he wanted to build would celebrate nature and humanity, and rather than a slave, it would be a friend, and even an inspirational model, to people. In 1926, Nishimura resigned from Hokkaido Imperial University, moved to Osaka, and started building his robot, with help from a small team of assistants. He named his robot Gakutensoku. Gakutensoku was first displayed in September 1928 in Kyoto, and the following year it was exhibited in Tokyo, Osaka, and Hiroshima, and later in Korea and China as well. Not long after, Gakutensoku disappeared. No records appear to exist describing how and where Gakutensoku disappeared.

Description

Gakutensoku could change its facial expression and move its head and hands via an air pressure mechanism. It had a pen-shaped signal arrow in its right hand and a lamp named Reikantō (靈感燈, Japanese for "inspiration light") in its left hand. Perched on top of Gakutensoku was a bird-shaped robot named Kokukyōchō (告曉鳥, Japanese for "bird informing dawn"). When Kokukyōchō cried, Gakutensoku's eyes closed and its expression became pensive. When the lamp shone, Gakutensoku started to write words with the pen. Gakutensoku was displayed at some expositions in Japan, the Chosun Exhibition and one other in Korea but was lost while touring Germany in the 1930s.

Legacy

An asteroid, 9786 Gakutensoku, was named after the robot. A modern version of Gakutensoku was produced in 2008 by the

Osaka Science Museum The is a science museum in Naka-no-shima, Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan. The museum is located between the Dōjima River and the Tosabori River, above Osaka's subterranean National Museum of Art. Opened in 1989, the museum was constructed to mark th ...

, where it is now on display.

Cultural references

*Gakutensoku and its creator, Makoto Nishimura, appear in

Hiroshi Aramata is a Japanese author, polymath, critic, translator and specialist in natural history, iconography and cartography. His most popular novel was ''Teito Monogatari'' (''Tale of the Capitol''), which has sold over 5 million copies in Japan alone. ...

's novel ''

Teito Monogatari is an epic historical dark fantasy/science fiction work; the debut novel of natural history researcher and polymath Hiroshi Aramata. It began circulation in the literary magazine ''Monthly King Novel'' owned by Kadokawa Shoten in 1983, and ...

'' and the subsequent film based on the novel. In the film Makoto is portrayed by his real life son

. *A similar robot named Hisoutensoku is the main feature of the fighting game '' Touhou Hisōtensoku'' and was inspired from the Gakutensoku.

References

{{reflist
"Japan's first-ever robot, version 2.0", ''Daily Yomiuri Online'', May 15, 2008
History of science and technology in Japan Historical robots Robots of Japan 1929 robots 1929 in Japan Humanoid robots Japanese inventions

History

Description

Legacy

Cultural references

See also

References