Japan's astronomical heritage, like so much of the culture's history, is one of enigma. Navigationally remote in ancient times and perhaps somewhat still socially remote amidst modern urbanization, it is easy for native and foreigner alike to perceive that there must be something unique and mysterious about what is “Japanese.” Yet, this island country is a mixture of eastern and western imports, and the social, political, and pragmatic processes related to such importation have origins dating back at least two millennia. One who actually visits the country may be somewhat overwhelmed by a large number of temples, shrines, and other architectural landmarks, some dating back many centuries, all reflecting an interaction of native socio‐cultural systems with those derived from the Asian continent. The visitor may also be somewhat disappointed to find much of the nation's heritage engulfed by high‐rise buildings and accompanying elements of industrialization, a factor which is also very...
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- 1.
An exhaustive account of these periods and the influence of continental imports is far beyond the scope of this article. The reader may find articles from Volume I of The Cambridge History of Japan series including Brown (1993a, b, c), Kidder (1993), Inoue (1993), Naoki (1993), Matsumae (1993), and Sonoda (1993) to be particularly relevant to a deeper understanding of these processes.
- 2.
A good chronology in English of Japan's general history may be found in Torao and Brown's (1991) Chronology of Japan. The most exhaustive history of Japan in English is the recently released Cambridge series (Hall et al. 1993). For shorter and perhaps more approachable views of Japanese history written in English, the following may be of value: Sansom's (1974) prewar but still viable 3 – volume A History of Japan and his (1973) Japan: A Short Cultural History; Hall (1971) Japan From Prehistory to Modern Times; Mason and Caiger (1973) A History of Japan; and Morton (1995) Japan: Its History and Culture.
- 3.
From our earlier discussion, the reader should have a good idea of the kinds of conflicts many imported ideas created for early Japanese. Other brief examples will further clarify the point: while the infusion of Confucianism reinforced many aspects of “lineality,” especially with regard to the development of bureaucratic governmental practices, the Confucian idea of a cyclical rise and fall of dynasties was never really accepted in Japan and stood directly against the idea of a singular imperial line. The fourth and fifth century infusions of Buddhism with beliefs, which emphasized a better life in death than in the present, directly contradicted the concept of vitalism and optimism. In addition, the Buddhistic idea of eventual decay as well as the Confucian idea of a “glorious past” were incongruent with virtually all aspects of Japanese consciousness and purpose.
- 4.
It is easy for the reader to get full insight into the significance of these ideas by reading the many excerpts of manuscripts from periods throughout Japan's history which are accompanied by commentary in the excellent Sources of Japanese Tradition compiled by Tsunoda et al. (1964). The sense of Shinto consciousness and its pervasiveness in modern Japanese life is also discussed by Shigemitsu (1996).
- 5.
Here and in later sections, we discuss the Chinese derived Sei Shuku or “moon stations” along with the animals of cardinal directions. Though used extensively in Japan from earliest Chinese infusions, a discussion of their complexity is more appropriate in a work on Chinese astronomy. The reader is urged to look at sources such as Needham (1959), Ho (1985), or Nivison (1989).
- 6.
Douwa Shu; Ginga Tetsudou no Yoru. (A Collection of Tales; Night of the Milky-Way Railroad) was originally started in 1924, adapted for some years, and finally published posthumously in 1951. It remains one of the most popular stories in Japan, loved by children and adults.
- 7.
See Krupp (1983, 1989) for a description in English of this and other cultivation related ceremonies that were practiced by the emperor in China. As they were recognized in Japan, some became part of the imperial ceremony, but many never found a place either because they did not fit within the imperial ‘purposes’ mentioned earlier or because they were in direct conflict with native Shinto belief (ritual sacrifice, for example).
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Renshaw, S.L., Ihara, S. (2008). Astronomy in Japan: A Cultural History. In: Selin, H. (eds) Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4425-0_8975
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