Shinjo Shinzo

Astronomer. Born as the sixth son of a sake brewer in Aizu-Wakamatsu. After graduating from the Second High School, he graduated from the Department of Physics at Tokyo Imperial University in 1895 (Meiji 28) and entered the university's graduate school, majoring in physics. In September 1897, he was appointed professor at the Army and taught at the Artillery School. In 1900 (Meiji 33), he became an assistant professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology of Kyoto Imperial University, and then studied in Germany. Upon returning to Japan, he became a professor there and a doctorate in science. In 1918 (Taisho 7), he founded the Department of Astrophysics at the university. After serving as dean of the Faculty of Science and president of the university, he became a professor emeritus and was appointed director of the Shanghai Institute of Natural Sciences. When the Sino-Japanese War broke out, he defended the institute amid the war and worked hard to preserve cultural materials in Beijing, Nanjing, and Hangzhou immediately after the war, eventually dying in a hospital in Nanjing on August 1, 1938 (Showa 13). He measured gravity and geomagnetic fields in Japan and throughout Korea, and during his time at the Kyoto University School of Astrophysics he devoted himself to research in theoretical astrophysics. He studied ancient Chinese calendar techniques and is also well-known as an authority on oriental astronomy, having written many books in addition to "Research on the History of Oriental Astronomy."

[Toshio Watanabe]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

天文学者。会津若松の酒造家の六男として出生。第二高等学校を経て、1895年（明治28）東京帝国大学物理学科卒業、同大学院に入学し、物理学を専攻。1897年9月陸軍教授に任じ、砲工学校で教鞭(きょうべん)をとる。1900年（明治33）京都帝国大学理工科大学助教授となり、続いてドイツに留学、帰朝して同教授、理学博士となり、1918年（大正7）同大学に宇宙物理学教室を創設した。理学部長、同大学総長を経て名誉教授となり、上海(シャンハイ)自然科学研究所所長に就任。日華事変が勃発(ぼっぱつ)すると戦乱下で研究所を死守し、戦争直後の北京(ペキン)、南京(ナンキン)、杭州(こうしゅう)の文化資料保存のために活躍し、ついに1938年（昭和13）8月1日、南京の病舎で客死した。日本内地および朝鮮各地で重力・地磁気を測定し、また京大宇宙物理学時代は理論宇宙物理学の研究に努めた。中国古代暦術を研究し、東洋天文学の権威者としても著名で、『東洋天文学史研究』のほか多くの著書がある。

［渡辺敏夫］

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