, also known as Wada Yasushi, was a Japanese
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
in the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
. His birth name was Kōyama Naoaki; but he changed his name to Wada Nei, by which he became more widely known.
Life and work
Wada studied under the patronage of the hereditary in the court of the emperor.
Wada became a student of
Kusaka Sei, who had been a student of
Ajima Chokuyen. Wada extended
Ajima Chokuyen's development of an integral calculus within the
Enri (, "circle principle") context. He worked on the computation of
minimum and maximum values (roughly by
equating
Test equating traditionally refers to the statistical process of determining comparable scores on different forms of an exam.Kolen, M.J., & Brennan, R.L. (1995). Test Equating. New York: Spring. It can be accomplished using either classical test ...
the first
derivative
In mathematics, the derivative of a function of a real variable measures the sensitivity to change of the function value (output value) with respect to a change in its argument (input value). Derivatives are a fundamental tool of calculus. F ...
to 0) and gave reasoning and insight to the computation method that was given without explanation by
Seki Takakazu
, Selin, Helaine. (1997). ''Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures,'' p. 890 also known as ,Selin, was a Japanese mathematician and author of the Edo period.
Seki laid foundations for the subs ...
about 100 years earlier. He was also the first Japanese mathematician to study
roulettes
The Roulettes are the Royal Australian Air Force's formation aerobatic display team.
They provide about 150 flying displays a year, in Australia and in friendly countries around the Southeast Asian region. The Roulettes form part of the RAAF ...
.
Selected works
Wada's published writings are few.
WorldCat Identities Wada Yasushi 和田寧 1787-1840
/ref>
*
OCLC 22035715224
See also
* Sangaku
Sangaku or San Gaku ( ja, 算額, lit=calculation tablet) are Japanese geometrical problems or theorems on wooden tablets which were placed as offerings at Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples during the Edo period by members of all social classes ...
, the custom of presenting mathematical problems, carved in wood tablets, to the public in shinto shrines
A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion.
Overview
Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings.
The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...
* Soroban
The is an abacus developed in Japan. It is derived from the History of Science and Technology in China, ancient Chinese suanpan, imported to Japan in the 14th century. Like the suanpan, the soroban is still used today, despite the proliferation ...
, a Japanese abacus
The abacus (''plural'' abaci or abacuses), also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool which has been used since ancient times. It was used in the ancient Near East, Europe, China, and Russia, centuries before the adoption of the Hin ...
* Japanese mathematics
denotes a distinct kind of mathematics which was developed in Japan during the Edo period (1603–1867). The term ''wasan'', from ''wa'' ("Japanese") and ''san'' ("calculation"), was coined in the 1870s and employed to distinguish native Japanese ...
Notes
References
* Endō Toshisada (1896). . Tōkyō: _____
OCLC 122770600
* Restivo, Sal P. (1992)
''Mathematics in Society and History: Sociological Inquiries.''
Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
OCLC 25709270
* David Eugene Smith
David Eugene Smith (January 21, 1860 – July 29, 1944) was an American mathematician, educator, and editor.
Education and career
David Eugene Smith is considered one of the founders of the field of mathematics education. Smith was born in Cortl ...
and Yoshio Mikami
was a Japanese mathematician and historian of ''Japanese mathematics''. He was born February 16, 1875, in Kotachi, Hiroshima prefecture. He attended the High School of Tohoku University, and in 1911 was admitted to the Imperial University of Tok ...
. (1914)
''A History of Japanese Mathematics.''
Chicago: Open Court Publishing
OCLC 1515528-- note alternate online, full-text copy at archive.org
* Isaac Titsingh
Isaac Titsingh FRS ( January 1745 – 2 February 1812) was a Dutch diplomat, historian, Japanologist, and merchant.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Isaak Titsingh" in . During a long career in East Asia, Titsingh was a senior official of the ...
. (1834). ''Nihon Odai Ichiran
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
''; ou
''Annales des empereurs du Japon.''
Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
OCLC 5850691
19th-century Japanese mathematicians
Japanese writers of the Edo period
1787 births
1840 deaths
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