Clavius and His Astronomical Data during the 'Christian Century' in Japan

概要

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During the so-called Christian century (1549-1650), Jesuit missionaries first introduced Western mathematical science to Japan. In the dissemination, Christoph Clavius's In sphaeram Ioannis de Sacro Bosco commentarius has been thought to have played an important part, as was the case in seventeenth-century China, but the particular processes of the book's introduction have yet to be demonstrated in detail. Focusing on the data concerning the dimensions of the heavens found in several Latin, Chinese, and Japanese works, this paper reveals that the transmission of Clavius's In sphaeram to Japan can be divided into three different stages: (1) Pedro Gomez's use in his textbook at the Jesuit college in Japan, (2) Sawano Chuan's use in his draft, which later became Kenkon bensetsu and Tenmon biyo, and (3) indirect introduction through Matteo Ricci's Kunyu wankuo quantu.
2009-03-31