was a Japanese
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
in the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...
.
Sakabe served for a time in the Fire Department of the shogunate, but he resigned that position to become a ''
rōnin
A ''rōnin'' ( ; ja, 浪人, , meaning 'drifter' or 'wanderer') was a samurai without a lord or master during the feudal period of Japan (1185–1868). A samurai became masterless upon the death of his master or after the loss of his master ...
'' or masterless samurai. He spent the rest of this life in study, in teaching, and in promoting mathematics education in Japan.
[Smith, ]
Sakabe was a student of
Ajima Naonobu
, also known as Ajima Manzō Chokuyen, was a Japanese mathematician of the Edo period.Smith, David. (1914).
His Dharma name was (祖眞院智算量空居士).
Work
Ajima is credited with introducing calculus into Japanese mathematics. The si ...
.
[Hayashi, Tsuruichi. (1907). "A Brief history of the Japanese Mathematics," ]
Sakabe investigated some European and Chinese works which had appeared in Japan, but his general method was later construed to be innovative, clarified and thus improved. Foreign influence shows itself indirectly some of his published work.
[Smith, ]
Sakabe's ''Sampo Tenzan Shinan-roku'' (''Treatise on Tenzan Algebra'') in 1810 was the first published work in Japan proposing the use of
logarithmic tables. He explained that "these tables save much labor,
utthey are but little known for the reason that they have never been printed in our country."
[Smith, ] Sakabe's proposal would not be realized until twenty years after his death when the first extensive logarithmic table was published in 1844 by
Koide Shuke.
[Smith, ]
In Sakabe's ''Treatise on Tenzan Algebra'', mathematical problems are arranged in order from easy problems to difficult ones. The text presents a method for finding the length of a circumference and the length an arc of an
ellipse. This was the first appearance of the problems pertaining to ellipses in printed books in Japan.
Selected works
In a statistical overview derived from writings by and about Harry Smith Parkes,
OCLC/
WorldCat
WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...
encompasses roughly 10+ works in 10+ publications in 1 language and 10+ library holdings.
* 1795 — ''Shinsen Tetsujutsu''
* 1802 — ''Kaiujutsu-keima'' (''Considerations on the theory of the polygon'')
* 1803 — ''Rippō-eijiku'', method for finding cube root
* 1810 —
OCLC 22057236896 ''Treatise on Tenzan Algebra''
* 1812 — ''Kwanki-kodo-shōhō'', measurement of spherical arcs and trigonometrical tables
[Hayashi, ]
* 1816 —
OCLC 122810576 theory of navigation applying the spherical astronomy of the West
See also
*
Sangaku
Sangaku or San Gaku ( ja, 算額, lit=calculation tablet) are Japanese geometrical problems or theorems on wooden tablets which were placed as offerings at Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples 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
A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion.
Overview
Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings.
The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...
*
Soroban
The is an abacus developed in Japan. It is derived from the ancient Chinese suanpan, imported to Japan in the 14th century. Like the suanpan, the soroban is still used today, despite the proliferation of practical and affordable pocket electr ...
, a Japanese
abacus
The abacus (''plural'' abaci or abacuses), also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool which has been used since ancient times. It was used in the ancient Near East, Europe, China, and Russia, centuries before the adoption of the Hi ...
*
Japanese mathematics
denotes a distinct kind of mathematics which was developed in Japan during the Edo period (1603–1867). The term ''wasan'', from ''wa'' ("Japanese") and ''san'' ("calculation"), was coined in the 1870s and employed to distinguish native Japanese ...
Notes
References
* Endō Toshisada (1896). . Tōkyō: _____
OCLC 122770600*
David Eugene Smith
David Eugene Smith (January 21, 1860 – July 29, 1944) was an American mathematician, educator, and editor.
Education and career
David Eugene Smith is considered one of the founders of the field of mathematics education. Smith was born in Cortl ...
and
Yoshio Mikami
was a Japanese mathematician and historian of '' Japanese mathematics''. He was born February 16, 1875, in Kotachi, Hiroshima prefecture. He attended the High School of Tohoku University, and in 1911 was admitted to the Imperial University of To ...
. (1914)
''A History of Japanese Mathematics.''Chicago: Open Court Publishing
OCLC 1515528– note alternate online, full-text copy at archive.org
* ''Wiskundig Genootschap'' (Mathematical Society). (1907) ''Nieuw archief voor wiskunde'' (New Archive of Mathematics''). Amsterdam, Swets & Zeitlinger
OCLC 5814818
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sakabe, Kohan
Japanese writers of the Edo period
18th-century Japanese mathematicians
19th-century Japanese mathematicians
1759 births
1824 deaths