Baron was a Japanese mathematician, educator, and education administrator during the

Meiji era The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

Biography

Early life and family

Kikuchi was born in

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

(present-day

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

), as the second son of Mitsukuri Shūhei, a professor at

Bansho Shirabesho The ', or "Institute for the Study of Barbarian Books," was the Japanese institute charged with the translation and study of foreign books and publications in the late Edo Period. Origin The institute was founded in 1856 that catered to the sa ...

, himself the adopted son of Mitsukuri Gempo, a

Shogunate , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakura ...

professor. The

Mitsukuri Mitsukuri (written: 箕作 or 三栗) is a Japanese surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family nam ...

family had distinguished themselves as scholars, and were at the centre of Japan's educational system in the Meiji era. His grandfather had been a student of Dutch studies ("rangaku"). Kikuchi Dairoku changed his surname from Mitsukuri to Kikuchi upon succeeding as the heir to his father's original family; the requisite legal procedures were completed in 1877.

Education

After attending the ''

'', the Shogunal institute for western studies, he was sent to Great Britain, in 1866, at age 11, the youngest of a group of Japanese sent by the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

to the

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_he ...

, on the advice of the then British foreign minister

Edward Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby Edward Henry Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby, (21 July 182621 April 1893; known as Lord Stanley from 1851 to 1869) was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British statesman. He served as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs twice, from ...

. Kikuchi returned to England in 1870 and was the first Japanese student to graduate from the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

( St. John's College) and the only one to graduate from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

in the 19th century. His specialisation was in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

and mathematics. In 1884 he attended the

International Meridian Conference The International Meridian Conference was a conference held in October 1884 in Washington, D.C., in the United States, to determine a prime meridian for international use. The conference was held at the request of U.S. President Chester A. ...

in Washington, D.C. and the master class of Kelvin in Baltimore.

Career

After returning to Japan, Kikuchi later became president of

Tokyo Imperial University , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

, Minister of Education (1901–1903,) and president of Kyoto Imperial University. In 1909 he lectured in London on Japanese Education and 1910 at New York on New Japan: Its Intellectual and Moral Development.Baron Kikuchi (1910
New Japan: Its Intellectual and Moral Development
/ref> His textbook on

elementary geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ca ...

was the most widely used geometry

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textbook ...

in Japan until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Kikuchi was made a

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or kn ...

under the ''

kazoku The was the hereditary peerage of the Empire of Japan, which existed between 1869 and 1947. They succeeded the feudal lords () and court nobles (), but were abolished with the 1947 constitution. Kazoku ( 華族) should not be confused with ...

'' peerage system in 1902 and was the eighth president of the Gakushūin Peers' School. In 1917 he became the first president of RIKEN, but died that same year.

Family and issue

Kikuchi's children became well-known scientists, and his grandson Minobe Ryōkichi became governor of Tokyo.

References and further reading

*Cobbing, Andrew. ''The Japanese Discovery of Victorian Britain''. RoutledgeCurzon, London, 1998. *Keane, Donald. ''Emperor Of Japan: Meiji And His World, 1852–1912''. Columbia University Press (2005). *'Kikuchi Dairoku, 1855–1917: Educational Administrator and Pioneer of Modern Mathematical Education in Japan,' by Noboru Koyama, Chapter 7, ''Britain & Japan: Biographical Portraits'' Volume 5, Global Oriental 2005,

External links

*
Japanese Students at Cambridge University in the Meiji Era, 1868–1912: Pioneers for the Modernization of Japan
', by Noboru Koyama, translated by Ian Ruxto

(Lulu Press, September 2004, ). Kikuchi is the central figure in this book.

on the National Diet Library database, Tokyo

— The Science Research Institute of Japan * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kikuchi, Dairoku 1855 births 1917 deaths 19th-century Japanese mathematicians 20th-century Japanese mathematicians Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Alumni of the University of London Education ministers of Japan Japanese expatriates in the United Kingdom Kazoku Kyoto University faculty Mitsukuri family People educated at University College School People from Tokyo People of Meiji-period Japan Presidents of the University of Tokyo Presidents of Kyoto University Riken personnel University of Tokyo faculty Textbook writers

Biography

Early life and family

Education

Career

Family and issue

See also

General

Japanese at Cambridge

British contemporaries at Cambridge

References and further reading

External links