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[MIS22-P05] The formation process of earth science recognition in 19th century Japan-A case study of the transition of aurora description-
Keywords:aurora, history of earth and planetary science, terminology
When we treat historical documents as scientific data, it is important to understand the background in which they were written, especially in the case of characteristic vocabulary. This report examines the process of the formation of earth science awareness in Japan from the 1840s to the 1980s, using the evolution of vocabulary indicating the aurora as a case study.
Kunitake Kume, a samurai from the Saga domain who accompanied the Iwakura delegation on a tour of Europe and the United States, described the aurora borealis he saw in Boston in the August 4, 1872, article of the "Memoirs of a Tour of America and Europe". This description really shows the formation process of earth science recognition in the transition period between early modern and modern times. In this report, we have analyzed the usage of the words "Hokko" and "Hokugyo" based on translations, textbooks and other publications, as well as aurora observation records from 1972.
The vocabulary of "Hokugyo" can be found in the "Jade Stone Shirin" (published around 1863), which was translated and compiled by Minosaku Ruan Fu, a professor at the Bansho Research Institute of the Edo Shogunate. This book can be found in the catalog of the collection of the Nabeshima family, the feudal lords of Saga, and is thought to have been circulated mainly among Western scholars. Later, it was also used as a vocabulary to indicate aurora in "Chimon Yomihon Zen" (1880), "Gakko-yo Chimon " (Lower Part)(1883), and "Chimon" (1884). It is noteworthy, however, that these textbooks refer to the aurora as "polar lights" and then state that there are two types of lights: "nanko (southern lights)" and "hokko (northern lights)".
The fact that auroras were mentioned in geography textbooks in the 1880s is not unrelated to the fact that in Japan, explanations of auroral phenomena were written in geography and natural history books rather than calendar books. This is because descriptions of the aurora can be found in "Shinshaku chiri biyo zenshu" (Marques, 1847), "Chiri Zenshi" (Muirhead, 1858), and "Hakubutsu Shinpen" (Hobson, published around 1855), which were written by foreigners in China and came to Japan. Here, however, the aurora is described using the vocabulary of "hokugyo". Of these books, the "Hakubutsu" was published as an "official edition" by the Edo shogunate Kaiseijo, and was later reprinted and reissued as a third edition in the first year of the Meiji era (1868-1912), with additions, translations, and notes, indicating that it was widely accepted by the intelligentsia (Tamotsu Fukui, "Edo Shogunate Publications," Yusodo Shuppan, 1987).
Why, then, did "hokugyo" and "hokko" coexist as translations for the aurora in the mid-19th century? The reason is that "Shinshaku", "Chiri", and "Hakubutsu" were translated into Chinese and passed through China. In contrast, when translated from the original language in Japan, "Hokko" is used. Kunitake Kume, who translated the word "aurora" as "aurora borealis" or "northern light," was a man who had knowledge of both Chinese and Western books and who truly embodied the earth science understanding of the period. This shows the transitional state of "knowledge" in Japan, which began to introduce science directly from the West, not through China.
Kunitake Kume, a samurai from the Saga domain who accompanied the Iwakura delegation on a tour of Europe and the United States, described the aurora borealis he saw in Boston in the August 4, 1872, article of the "Memoirs of a Tour of America and Europe". This description really shows the formation process of earth science recognition in the transition period between early modern and modern times. In this report, we have analyzed the usage of the words "Hokko" and "Hokugyo" based on translations, textbooks and other publications, as well as aurora observation records from 1972.
The vocabulary of "Hokugyo" can be found in the "Jade Stone Shirin" (published around 1863), which was translated and compiled by Minosaku Ruan Fu, a professor at the Bansho Research Institute of the Edo Shogunate. This book can be found in the catalog of the collection of the Nabeshima family, the feudal lords of Saga, and is thought to have been circulated mainly among Western scholars. Later, it was also used as a vocabulary to indicate aurora in "Chimon Yomihon Zen" (1880), "Gakko-yo Chimon " (Lower Part)(1883), and "Chimon" (1884). It is noteworthy, however, that these textbooks refer to the aurora as "polar lights" and then state that there are two types of lights: "nanko (southern lights)" and "hokko (northern lights)".
The fact that auroras were mentioned in geography textbooks in the 1880s is not unrelated to the fact that in Japan, explanations of auroral phenomena were written in geography and natural history books rather than calendar books. This is because descriptions of the aurora can be found in "Shinshaku chiri biyo zenshu" (Marques, 1847), "Chiri Zenshi" (Muirhead, 1858), and "Hakubutsu Shinpen" (Hobson, published around 1855), which were written by foreigners in China and came to Japan. Here, however, the aurora is described using the vocabulary of "hokugyo". Of these books, the "Hakubutsu" was published as an "official edition" by the Edo shogunate Kaiseijo, and was later reprinted and reissued as a third edition in the first year of the Meiji era (1868-1912), with additions, translations, and notes, indicating that it was widely accepted by the intelligentsia (Tamotsu Fukui, "Edo Shogunate Publications," Yusodo Shuppan, 1987).
Why, then, did "hokugyo" and "hokko" coexist as translations for the aurora in the mid-19th century? The reason is that "Shinshaku", "Chiri", and "Hakubutsu" were translated into Chinese and passed through China. In contrast, when translated from the original language in Japan, "Hokko" is used. Kunitake Kume, who translated the word "aurora" as "aurora borealis" or "northern light," was a man who had knowledge of both Chinese and Western books and who truly embodied the earth science understanding of the period. This shows the transitional state of "knowledge" in Japan, which began to introduce science directly from the West, not through China.