Celestial Sciences in the Works of Nishikawa Joken (1648 1724)
Résumé
The turn of the 17th to the 18th century is often regarded as a transitional period in the history of Japanese astronomy. Shibukawa Harumi 澁川春海 (1639 1715) successfully led a calendrical reform, and the practice of empirical astronomy was on the rise. Among those who theorize on the importance of this type of astronomy, the name of Nishikawa Joken 西川如見 (1648 1724) is one of the first to be mentioned. For historians of science who study Japan, Joken remains one of the early proponents of European-inspired observational astronomy. For intellectual historians, Joken is part of a broader trend in Japanese Confucian thought towards novel ways of apprehending the cosmos that are still firmly rooted in Chinese traditions. The purpose of this study is to review the central issues in previous scholarship on Joken and to supplement it with a bibliographical approach. By bibliographically organizing his astronomical and non-astronomical writings, it is possible to gather evidence on the intended audience and assess the impact of each work. My goal is to propose a more holistic understanding of the celestial sciences (tengaku 天學) in Joken s works by taking into account the characteristics of each work in which his cosmological ideas appear.