Astronomy in Japan - Research Paper Example

Astronomy in Japan As with a number of elements in the Japanese culture, the belief in and practice of astronomy has been an ancient tradition that was absorbed from foreign influence and acquired a unique Japanese identity through the years. Background Early knowledge and interest in Astronomy in Japan is attributed to the Chinese influence. Since ancient times, China has already a sophisticated astronomical knowledge particularly with astrology and calendar-making. To demonstrate this, China developed a large and and elaborate governmental organization in the second century, the Office of the Grand Astrologer, where astronomical, astrological and chronometric tasks were performed and their techniques were taught to students. (Lankford 283) Japan’s contacts with China and the arrival of Koreans who brought with them the Chinese calendrical knowledge started astronomical practices. Astronomy would be instituted in Japan after the immigration of peoples from Korea in the sixth, seventh and eighth centuries and that during the Sui dynasty in China, the Japanese emperor sent an embassy to China and they returned with reports of the role of astronomy in court culture. (North 2008, p. 150) In the following period, Koreans masters who have extensive artistic and scientific knowledge on Chinese culture such as in astronomy were frequently invited to Japan. According to Steele (2000), the earliest astronomical records in Japanese history come from the seventh century A.D. and that these are contained in the Nihingi and include observations of the eclipsed sun or moon, occultations of stars and planets, and the appearance of comets and meteors. (220) Institutionalization of Astronomy The above developments allowed for the Chinese view to take root in the Japanese society and culture. As a result, astronomy also became institutionalized. A similar office as that of the Chinese Grand Astrologer was created in the country, the Japanese Board of Yin-Yang, whose mandate includes astronomical and astrological responsibilities, yin-yang divination and calendar-making, especially for ordering court ceremonies. (North) The Yin-Yang, wrote Lankford, had the following structure: Under the director, it consisted four departments, assigned to perform Ying-yang art, astrology, calendar-making, and time-keeping. Each department also trained students. (283) For a millennium and a half, astronomy would play a very important role in Japanese society and government. This is demonstrated strongest in the principles espoused by the Shinto religion. This religion, wrote Ruggles (2005), forged unbreakable links between cosmology, political structure, and the sun. He said that successive emperors would trace their ancestry directly back to the Sun Goddess, which became fundamental in reinforcing a national identity linked with the sun. (221) In fact, this is till very much evident in the national flag of modern Japan. The ease by which astronomy was accepted in old Japan was perhaps related to the fact that it complements the Japanese mythology, which is also institutionalized by the government. The Sun goddess Amaterasu has a central role in governance through the royal family, then there are the Moon God, and the stars and how they are interrelated and how their festivities are celebrated to strengthen Japanese traditions and rituals. It appeared that astronomy along with its place in religion gave some form of legitimacy to the myths that forms the anchor of the imperial tradition. Astronomy and the Japanese Identity As has been established, the introduction of astronomy in Japan is attributed to Chinese and Korean influences. An underlying aspect in this development is how these influences have evolved for astronomy to distinctly assume a Japanese identity with an infusion of local culture and traditions. For instance, when the Japanese established the office of the Board of Yin-Yang, the Japanese put more emphasis on divination. (Lankford 284) Then, a system was put in place prescribing that membership in this institution be limited to students of aristocratic origin. By the tenth century, it would become more ceremonial when the system became hereditary. Later on, the astrological and calendrical tasks were dominated by two families. (284) These offices were politically important because of its connections to the aristocratic and imperial rituals and ceremonies. The office, for instance, tasked to perform calendrical responsibilities could introduce new rituals and ceremonies and lead in their performance. A specific example of how astronomy is practically employed in the old Japanese society and perhaps even today is the way temples are constructed. The Shinto religion locates the place where their temples would be built and determine their alignment, including the emperor’s palaces, according to the spiritual power in the landscape in reference to celestial elements. Another example of how astronomy is applied in the Japanese culture was the several tombs such as those found in Asuka plain, east of Osaka. These tombs of high-status individuals, built in the seventh and eighth centuries, contain paintings with strong astronomical associations. Ruggles, described some of these artifacts: The ceiling depict the twenty-eight lunar mansions (known as shuku) and other constellations, while the walls show the animal gods associated with each other of the cardinal directions. (Ruggles 222) European Influence Japanese contacts with the Europeans would also influence Japanese astronomy later on particularly in the 16th century when Catholic missionaries brought with them the ideas of Ptolemy and Ptolemaic astronomy., Westen Enlightenment and the principles developed by Galileo and Newton. According to North, the impact of these ideas on Japan, though gradual, was nonetheless significant because they forced the Japanese to consider their own assumptions about the operations of the natural world. In 1605, a Japanese who was a converted Christian, wrote an important body of work on Western astronomical science and explained the spherical nature of the earth. (Lankford 284) From then on, particularly starting in the 18th century, Japanese astronomers would make dramatic progress in theory and in practice. Lankford credit this development to Goryu Asada, who studied astronomy by himself, observed independently of any academic institutions, and yet produced disciples who would become official astronomers of the Tokugawa government. (285) The implications of astronomy in this period was demonstrated in the way the longitudes of major cities were determined. Astronomers would also prove pivotal in the national survey, who became crucial mid the Russian encroachment on the Japanese northern islands. Astronomers and their instruments would also prove important in drawing the Japanese national map. Honda Toshiaki for example used astronomy with mathematics to advice the Tokugawa government in its trade and territorial expansion as seen in the drawing of the national map and the colonization of Hokkaido, Sakhalin and Kuril. (Varley 222) Since the 1920s, Japanese astronomers concentrated on positional astronomy, a different research agenda espoused by Shinzo Shinjo. This and the emergent tradition of elementary particle physics helped to produce first-rate specialists in astrophysics in postwar Japan. (Lankford, p. 286) From its first introduction in Japan to the present, astronomy have always been important to the Japanese culture. It is easy to understand this because it suits how the Japanese generally see the world. This is demonstrated best in how it is easily integrated in the Shinto traditions. Astronomy is compatible with the Japanese way of life, it reinforced their religion as well as their imperial traditions. Najita (1997) reflected this best when he said that human knowledge must rest ultimately on the proposition that the universe is an infinite absolute preceding all human and historical experiences and that what men know, therefore, must be tested with reference to the best-know science of studying the universe, which is astronomy. (255) This is why, although, astronomy is not a Japanese invention, Japan was able to embrace it and a achieve a kind that is uniquely its own. Works Cited Lankford, John, History of astronomy: an encyclopedia. Taylor and Francis, 1997. Najita, Tetsuo, Visions of virtue in Tokugawa Japan: the Kaitokudō Merchant Academy of Osaka. University of Hawaii Press, 1997. North, John, Cosmos: an illustrated history of astronomy and cosmology. University of Chicago Press, 2008. Ruggles, Clive, Ancient astronomy: an encyclopedia of cosmologies and myth. Santa Barbara, Ca.: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Steele, John. Observations and predictions of eclipse times by early astronomers. Springer, 2000. Varley, Paul. Japanese culture. University of Hawaii Press, 2000. Read More