91
Views
3
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Main articles

The emergence of theoretical physics in Japan: Japanese physics community between the two World Wars

Pages 383-402 | Received 20 Jun 1994, Published online: 22 Aug 2006

  • Yukawa , H. 1973 . Creativity and Intuition: A Physicist Looks at East and West 26 – 26 . Tokyo translated by John Bester and 34.
  • For information, see Koizumi K. The Development of Physics in Meiji Japan: 1868–1912 University of Pennsylvania 1973 unpublished PhD dissertation chapter 1. A revised and abridged version of the dissertation was published: ‘The Emergence of Japan's First Physicists: 1868–1900’, Historical Studies in Physical Sciences, 6 (1975), 3–108.
  • When F. Yukichi met a Chinese in London and asked each other how many natives in their countries could read Western materials directly, they estimated that there were over 500 Japanese and about 11 Chinese. See Shimao E. Some Aspects of Japanese Science, 1868–1945 Annals of Science 1989 46 71 71
  • Heilbron , J.L. 1979 . Electricity in the 17th and 18th Centuries: A Study of Early Modern Physics 319 – 319 . Berkeley (Figure 13.2).
  • Koizumi , K. 1973 . The Development of Physics in Meiji Japan: 1868–1912 , University of Pennsylvania . unpublished PhD dissertation chapters 4 and 5.
  • Koizumi , K. 1973 . The Development of Physics in Meiji Japan: 1868–1912 , 183 – 183 . University of Pennsylvania . unpublished PhD dissertation
  • Tanakadate , A. 1888 . Mean Intensity of Magnetization of Soft Iron Bars of Various Lengths in a Uniform Magnetic Field . Philosophical Magazine , 26 : 450 – 456 . idem, ‘The Thermal Effect due to Reversals of Magnetization in Soft Iron,’ Philosophical Magazine, 27 (1889), 207–18.
  • Koizumi , K. 1973 . The Development of Physics in Meiji Japan: 1868–1912 , 215 – 215 . University of Pennsylvania . unpublished PhD dissertation
  • For Nagaoka's atomic models, see Yagi E. On Nagaoka's Saturnian Atomic Model (1903) Japanese Studies in the History of Science 1964 3 29 47 idem, ‘The Development of Nagaoka's Saturnian Atomic Model I: Dispersion on Light (1905)’, Japanese Studies in the History of Science, 6 (1967), 19–25; and idem, ‘The development of Nagaoka's Saturnian Atomic Model II (1904–05): Nagaoka's Theory of the Structure of Matter’, Japanese Studies in the History of Science, 11 (1972), 73–89.
  • For Honda's work, see Kawamiya Nobuo Kotaro Honda: Founder of the Science of Metals in Japan Japanese Studies in the History of Science 1976 15 145 158
  • Kawamiya , Nobuo . 1976 . Kotaro Honda: Founder of the Science of Metals in Japan . Japanese Studies in the History of Science , 15 : 151 – 156 .
  • Honda's authoritarian style is famous Bartholomew J.R. The Formation of Science in Japan New Haven 1989 187 191
  • Bartholomew , J.R. 1989 . The Formation of Science in Japan 187 – 191 . New Haven chapters 7 and 8.
  • Kamatani , C. 1963 . The History of Research Organization in Japan . Japanese Studies in the History of Science , 2 : 1 – 79 .
  • Itakura , K. and Yagi , E. 1974 . “ The Japanese Research System and the Establishment of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research ” . In Science and Society in Modern Japan: Selected Historical Sources Edited by: Nakayama , S. , Swain , D.L. and Yagi , E. 160 – 160 . Tokyo in See also ‘An Institute of Physical and Chemical Research for Japan’, Nature, 102 (1918), 294–5.
  • Itakura and Yagi . 1974 . “ The Japanese Research System and the Establishment of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research ” . In Science and Society in Modern Japan: Selected Historical Sources Edited by: Nakayama , S. , Swain , D.L. and Yagi , E. 188 – 189 . Tokyo in
  • Itakura and Yagi . 1974 . “ The Japanese Research System and the Establishment of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research ” . In Science and Society in Modern Japan: Selected Historical Sources Edited by: Nakayama , S. , Swain , D.L. and Yagi , E. 191 – 192 . Tokyo
  • Bartholomew . 1989 . The Formation of Science in Japan 199 – 199 . New Haven
  • 1922–3 . Scientific Papers of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research Vol. 1 , i – i . 13 (1930), i–ii; and 36 (1939), i–iii.
  • Editorial . 1938 . Summary of the Past Activities of the Institute . Scientific Papers of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research , 34 : 1763 – 1892 .
  • Editorial . 1938 . Summary of the Past Activities of the Institute . Scientific Papers of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research , 34 : 1846 – 1846 .
  • Editorial . 1938 . Summary of the Past Activities of the Institute . Scientific Papers of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research , 34 : 1847 – 1847 .
  • Nagaoka , H. 1904 . Motion of Particles in an Ideal Atom illustrating the Line and Band Spectra and the Phenomena of Radioactivity . Proceedings of the Tokyo Mathematico-Physical Society , 2 : 92 – 107 . and idem, ‘Dispersion of Light due to Electron-Atom,’ Proceeding of the Tokyo Mathematico-Physical Society, 2 (1905), 280–5.
  • Yukawa , H. 1935 . On the Interaction of Elementary Particles . Proceedings of the Physico-Mathematical Society of Japan , 17 : 48 – 57 . idem, ‘On a Possible Interpretation of the Penetrating Component of the Cosmic Ray’, Proceedings of the Physico-Mathematical Society of Japan, 19 (1937), 712–14; Yukawa and S. Sakata, ‘The Mass and Life Time of the Mesotron’, Proceedings of the Physico-Mathematical Society of Japan, 21 (1939), 138–39.
  • 1922 . Proceedings of Physico-Mathematical Society of Japan , 4 : i – ii .
  • 1930 . Proceedings of Physico-Mathematical Society of Japan , 12 : i – iii .
  • 1939 . Proceedings of Physico-Mathematical Society of Japan , 21 : i – iii .
  • 1923 . Japanese Journal of Physics: Abstracts , 2 : 1 – 12 . 6 (1930), 1–32, 11 (1936), 1–66; 12 (1938), 1–88.
  • Nishina , Y. 1925 . On the L-absorption Spectra of the Elements from Sn (50) to W (74) and their Relation to the Atomic Conclusion . Philosophical Magazine , 49 : 521 – 521 .
  • Sugiura , Y. 1927 . Application of Schrödinger's Wave Functions to the Calculation of Transition Probabilities for the Principal Series of Sodium . Philosophical Magazine , 4 : 495 – 496 .
  • Watanabe , M. 1970 . Science Across the Pacific: American-Japanese Scientific and Cultural Contacts in the Late Nineteenth Century . Japanese Studies in the History of Science , 9 : 135 – 135 .
  • For this utilitarian view, see Nakayama S. Characteristics of Scientific Development of Japan New Delhi 1977 chapter 4, and Kamatani (footnote 15).
  • Bartholomew . 1989 . The Formation of Science in Japan 115 – 115 . New Haven
  • Bartholomew . 1989 . The Formation of Science in Japan 115 – 115 . New Haven chapter 6.
  • Bartholomew . 1989 . The Formation of Science in Japan 168 – 176 . New Haven Marriage links were common in medical faculties.
  • Home , R.W. and Watanabe , M. 1990 . Forming New Physics Communities: Australia and Japan, 1914–1950 . Annals of Science , 47 : 329 – 330 . Watanabe indicates that the Japanese traditionally regarded knowledge as a private property ‘to be passed on from a master to a chosen disciple rather than being subjected to open and critical examination’.
  • Shimao , E. 1989 . Some Aspects of Japanese Science, 1868–1945 . Annals of Science , 46 : 89 – 89 .
  • Hiraoka , S. 1980 . Ishiwara Jun . Kagaku , 50 : 768 – 774 . (in Japanese) S. Nisio, ‘The Transmission of Einstein's Work to Japan’, Japanese Studies in the History of Science, 18 (1979), 1–8.
  • For the full list of Ishiwara's research papers during the 1910s, see Nisio Ishiwara Jun Kagaku 1980 50 4 5 (in Japanese)
  • Nisio . 1980 . Ishiwara Jun . Kagaku , 50 : 7 – 7 . (in Japanese)
  • et al. A History of the Cavendish Laboratory, 1871–1900 London 1910 331 331
  • Ishino , M. 1916 . On the Velocity of Secondary Cathode Rays Emitted by a Gas under the Action of High-Speed Cathode Rays . Philosophical Magazine , 32 : 222 – 222 .
  • Oba , S. 1914 . The Absorption of γ Rays . Philosophical Magazine , 27 : 601 – 607 . M. Ishino, ‘The Scattering and the Absorption of the γ Rays’, Philosophical Magazine, 33 (1917), 129–46. For S. Kinoshita's contact with Rutherford, see Cambridge University Library MSS. Add. 7653, K42 (4 April 1910), 43 (4 February 1912), 44 (22 October 1914).
  • Schweber , S.S. 1986 . The Empiricist Temper Regnant: Theoretical Physics in the United States 1920–1950 . Historical Studies in Physical and Biological Sciences , 17 : 55 – 98 .
  • A short but vivid narrative for the period is given by Segrè Emilio From X-rays to Quarks: Modern Physicists and Their Discoveries New York 1980 chapter 8.
  • Muto , T. 1931 . Note on the Photoelectric Effect by Relativistic Wave Equation of Dirac . Scientific Papers of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research , 15 : 111 – 126 . T. Sakai, ‘On Dirac's new Relativistic Quantum Mechanics’, Proceedings of the Physico-Mathematical Society of Japan, 14 (1932), 355–62.
  • Yukawa . 1973 . Creativity and Intuition: A Physicist Looks at East and West 35 – 36 . Tokyo translated by John Bester
  • Yukawa , H. 1982 . Tabibito (The Traveler) 160 – 161 . Singapore translated by L. Brown and R. Yoshida
  • Yukawa , H. 1982 . Tabibito (The Traveler) 164 – 166 . Singapore
  • Yukawa , H. 1982 . Tabibito (The Traveler) 171 – 171 . Singapore
  • Yukawa , H. 1982 . Tabibito (The Traveler) 177 – 177 . Singapore
  • Yukawa , H. 1982 . Tabibito (The Traveler) 162 – 163 . Singapore
  • Yukawa , H. 1982 . Tabibito (The Traveler) 164 – 164 . Singapore
  • Koizumi . 1973 . The Development of Physics in Meiji Japan: 1868–1912 , University of Pennsylvania . unpublished PhD dissertation chapter 4.
  • See Yukawa The Oriental Approach 1948 in his Creativity and Intuition (footnote 1), 51–60. He confessed that he had been greatly influenced by Oriental philosophy, especially Taosim, and emphasized that intuition, or Japanese kan, is as much useful as rational thinking in science.
  • For Einstein's visit to Japan and its impact, see Kaneko T. Einstein's View of Japanese Culture Historia Scientiarum 1984 27 51 76 and Kaneko, ‘Einstein's Impact on Japanese Intellectuals’, in The Comparative Reception of Relativity, edited by T. F. Glick (Dordrecht, 1987), 351–79. For the transmission of Einstein's work, see Nisio (footnote 40).
  • Yukawa . 1982 . Tabibito (The Traveler) 171 – 171 . Singapore
  • Yukawa . 1982 . Tabibito (The Traveler) 200 – 200 . Singapore
  • For example, the following papers were published by Tomonaga Scientific Papers of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research On the Creation of Positive and Negative Electrons by Heavy Charged Particles Nishina Y. Tomonaga S. Kobayashi M. 1935 27 137 178 Nishina, Tomonaga and H. Tamaki, ‘A Note on the Interaction of the Neutron and the Proton’, 30 (1936), 61–70; K. Umeda, Tomonaga and Y. Ono, ‘Eine Bemerkung über die gegenseitigen potentiellen Energien zwischen zwei Deuteronen’, 32 (1937), 87–96; Tomonaga and Umeda, ‘Eine Bemerkung zum Austauschintegral’, 32 (1937), 97–102; Tomonaga, ‘Bemerkungen über die kinetische Kernenergie im Hartree-Fock-Modell’, 32 (1937), 229–232; Tomonaga and Tamaki, ‘On the Collision of a High Energy Neutrino with a Neutron’, 33 (1937), 288–98; Tomonaga and Kobayashi, ‘Scattering and Splitting of Photons on the Non-linear Field Theory of Born and Infeld’ 34 (1938), 1643–9. For the complete list of his works during the 1930s, see T. Miyazima (ed.), Scientific Papers of Tomonaga (Tokyo, 1971), i.
  • Neddermeyer , S.H. and Anderson , C.D. 1937 . Note on the Nature of Cosmic-Ray Particles . Physical Review , 51 : 884 – 886 . J. R. Oppenheimer and R. Serber. ‘Note on the Nature of Cosmic-Ray Particles’, Physical Review, 51 (1937), 1113.
  • Yukawa . 1982 . Tabibito (The Traveler) 203 – 203 . Singapore
  • See Yoshinori K. Hirosige T. ‘The Elementary Particle Theory Group’ ‘Social Conditions for Pre-War Japanese Research in Nuclear Physics’ in Nakayama, Swain and Yagi Tokyo 202 220 and 221–52 respectively; Visvapriya Mukherji, ‘A History of the Meson Theory of Nuclear Forces from 1935 to 1952’, Archive for History of Exact Science, 13 (1974), 27–102; Joseph L. Spradley, ‘Particle Physics in prewar Japan’, American Scientists 73 (1985), 563–9; Satio Hayakawa, ‘The Development of Meson Physics in Japan’, and Takehiko Takabayasi, ‘Some Characteristic Aspects of Early Elementary Particle Theory in Japan’, in L. M. Brown and L. Hoddeson (eds), The Birth of Particle Physics: Based on a Fermilab Symposium (Cambridge, 1983), 82–107 and 294–303 respectively; and L. M. Brown, R. Kawabe, M. Konuma, and Z. Maki (eds), Elementary Particle Theory in Japan, 1935–1960: Japan-USA Collaboration, Second Phase (Kyoto, 1988).
  • Kikuchi , S.K. , Aoki , H. and Husimi , K. 1936 . The Emission of the Electron from the Substances Traversed by Fast Neutrons . Proceedings of the Physico-Mathematical Society of Japan , 18 : 744 – 744 .
  • Aoki , H. 1937 . Excitation of Gamma-Rays by Fast Neutrons . Proceedings of the Physico-Mathematical Society of Japan , 19 : 376 – 376 .
  • Yukawa , H. and Sakata , S. 1937 . On the Theory of Collision of Neutrons with Deuterons . Proceedings of the Physico-Mathematical Society of Japan , 19 : 547 – 547 . Yukawa and Sakata, ‘On the Interaction of Elementary Particles II’, Proceedings of the Physico-Mathematical Society of Japan, 19 (1937), 1090.
  • Tomonaga , S. 1971 . “ Reminiscences ” . In Scientific Papers of Tomonaga Edited by: Miyazima . Vol. II , 464 – 464 . Tokyo It was originally published as the Supplement of Progress of Theoretical Physics, extra number, dedicated to Professor Kobayashi on the occasion of his 60th birthday (Kyoto, 1968).
  • Tomonaga , S. 1971 . “ Reminiscences ” . In Scientific Papers of Tomonaga Edited by: Miyazima . Vol. II , 466 – 467 . Tokyo
  • For the details of the meson club, see Particle Physics in Japan, 1930–1950 Brown L.M. Konuma M. Maki Z. Koyto 1980 I 56 60
  • Yukawa , H. 1935 . On the Interaction of Elementary Particles. I . Proceedings of the Physico-Mathematical Society of Japan , 17 : 52 – 52 .
  • Kobayasi , M. and Okayama , T. 1939 . On the Creation and Annihilation of Heavy Quanta in Matter . Proceedings of the Physico-Mathematical Society of Japan , 21 : 13 – 13 .
  • Taketani , M. and Sakata , S. 1940 . On the Wave Equation of Meson . Proceedings of the Physico-mathematical Society of Japan , 22 : 770 – 770 .
  • Kobayasi , M. and Utiyama , R. 1940 . On the Interaction of Mesons with Radiation Fields . Proceedings of the Physico-Mathematical Society of Japan , 22 : 898 – 898 .
  • See Tomonaga Scientific Papers of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research On the Creation of Positive and Negative Electrons by Heavy Charged Particles Miyazima T. Nishina Y. Tomonaga S. Kobayashi M. 1935 27 459 461 Professor Nishina, (in Japanese) ii which was originally published in Kagaku, 21 (1951), 211–2. See also Home and Watanabe (footnote 38), 336.
  • Brown , Konuma and Maki . 1980 . Particle Physics in Japan, 1930–1950 Vol. I , 56 – 56 . Koyto
  • Yoshinori . ‘Social Conditions for Pre-War Japanese Research in Nuclear Physics’ in Nakayama, Swain and Yagi 222 – 229 . Tokyo
  • Brown , Kawabe , Konuma and Maki . ‘Social Conditions for Pre-War Japanese Research in Nuclear Physics’ in Nakayama, Swain and Yagi 3 – 4 . Tokyo This is Y. Nambu's recollection. See also Brown, Konuma and Maki (footnote 73), 62–64 [T. Takabayasi's recollection].
  • Yoshinori . ‘Social Conditions for Pre-War Japanese Research in Nuclear Physics’ in Nakayama, Swain and Yagi 239 – 239 . Tokyo
  • Brown , Konuma and Maki . 1980 . Particle Physics in Japan, 1930–1950 Vol. I , 39 – 39 . Koyto
  • Brown , L.M. , Konuma , M. and Maki , Z. , eds. 1980 . Particle Physics in Japan, 1930–1950 Vol. II , 42 – 43 . Kyoto
  • Julian , Schwinger . Two Shakers of Physics: Memorial Lectures for Sin-itiro Tomonaga Edited by: Brown and Hoddeson . 345 – 375 . Tokyo
  • Rosenberg , Charles E. 1988 . Woods of Trees: Ideas and Actors in the History of Science . Isis , 79 : 565 – 570 .
  • For example, see Traweek Sharon Big Science and Colonialistic Discourse: Building High-Energy Physics in Japan Big Science: The Growth of Large-Scale Research Galison P. Hevly B. Stanford 1992 100 128 in

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.