Paper short abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to analyze early modern Japanese cosmology through the works of the Nagasaki scholar Nishikawa Joken (1648-1724). I will focus on the transmission of European scientific knowledge by the Jesuits and its impact on the Japanese astronomical and calendrical practices.

Paper long abstract:

This study is an examination of early modern Japanese cosmological thought as represented by the works of Nishikawa Joken (1648-1724), a Confucian scholar from Nagasaki who is mostly known for his popular works on geography and astronomy. Although he lived precisely during the time when the control over foreign trade was strictest in Japan, his social status and geographical position enabled a close contact with knowledge from abroad.

The connections between astronomy and its calendrical applications are at the core of Joken's cosmology. The different cosmographical models inherited from ancient China remain his principal reference, and he considers calendar-making and its political significance an essential part of astronomical practices. He recognizes some of the technical advantages of the Aristotelian-Ptolemaic conception of the cosmos transmitted by the Jesuits, but dismisses its main premises. He contrasts the four elements in the European tradition with the theory of the "five phases" (gogyō 五行), which has a corresponding function in Chinese philosophy, and claims that the Sino-Japanese understanding of reality is more sophisticated.

In this paper I will analyze the use of astronomical and calendrical sciences by Nishikawa Joken, with particular focus on his interpretation of knowledge transmitted from Europe. It is highly likely that scientific treatises produced in China by the Jesuits or by Chinese scholars under their influence were already circulating clandestinely in Japan by his time despite the official ban on such texts. Moreover, Joken had access to the Japanese translations of other prohibited works on Western cosmology published by the Jesuits active in Japan. By looking at the impact of these channels of scientific knowledge on Nishikawa Joken's works, I hope to shed light on the Japanese conception of the cosmos during the Edo period.