Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Science
- The Cambridge History of Science
- The Cambridge History Of Science
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- General Editors’ Preface
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Transnational, International, and Global
- Part II National and Regional
- Europe
- Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia
- East and Southeast Asia
- 28 China
- 29 Japan
- 30 Korea
- 31 Indochina
- 32 Philippines
- 33 East and Southeast Asia: A Commentary
- United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania
- Latin America
- Index
29 - Japan
from East and Southeast Asia
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 March 2020
- The Cambridge History of Science
- The Cambridge History of Science
- The Cambridge History Of Science
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- General Editors’ Preface
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Transnational, International, and Global
- Part II National and Regional
- Europe
- Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia
- East and Southeast Asia
- 28 China
- 29 Japan
- 30 Korea
- 31 Indochina
- 32 Philippines
- 33 East and Southeast Asia: A Commentary
- United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania
- Latin America
- Index
Summary
Perhaps the most basic fact impinging on the rise of modern science in Japan has been its relative isolation – geographic, cultural, and linguistic – from the rest of the scientific world. Especially during the years between 1639 and 1853, political isolation was largely deliberate and self-imposed. This sense of difference has provided a basic frame of reference for both Western and Japanese perceptions of the history of science in Japan. Even after the so-called opening of the country to the West (kaikoku) following Matthew Perry’s expedition (1853–4) and up to the present day, many Japanese intellectuals have seen themselves in rivalry with the West, as if in a contest to catch up to, or even surpass, Western nations in the race for scientific distinction.
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- The Cambridge History of Science , pp. 555 - 576Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020
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