Zen Hodoji

Japanese: 法道寺善 - ほうどうじ・ぜん

Year of death: September 16, 1868 (October 31, 1868)
Year of birth: 1820
A Japanese mathematician from the late Edo and Meiji periods. Commonly known as Wajuro, his pen names were Tsutsuda and Kanzan. He was from Hiroshima. He studied under Umezono Ryusuke, then went to Edo and became a pupil of Uchida Gokan, studying at Madomeka Juku for six years, after which he travelled around the country and educated children. His famous Kanshin Kosanhen (1862) was written when he was around 43 years old, and it presents the same idea as what is now known as the inversion method. It is unclear whether he had the idea of mapping, but ultimately he was dealing with advanced mappings. The title probably refers to a new method of calculation that Kanzan had invented.

(Yoshimasa Michiwaki)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：明治1.9.16(1868.10.31)
生年：文政3(1820)
幕末明治期の和算家。通称和十郎,字は通達,観山と号す。広島の人。梅園立介に学び,のち江戸に出て内田五観の門に入り,瑪得瑪弟加塾で6年間研鑽,その後諸国を遍歴,子弟を教育した。有名な『観新考算変』(1862)は43歳ごろの著述であるが,ここには現在の反転法といわれるものと同じ考え方が示されている。写像という考えを持っていたかどうか不明だが,結果的には高級な写像を扱っていた。題名は観山が新たに考えた算法という意味であろう。

(道脇義正)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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