San Gaku (Sangaku)

Japanese Temple Geometry

During the Edo period Japan was isolated from other countries. In this period of isolation Japanese mathematical results flourished mainly in the form of geometric theorems written in tablets offered in temples.

The majority of the problems appearing on tablets are geometric problems and most of them are problems where certain geometric configuration of circles and triangles are given and it is asked to find a quantity like the radius of a circle or the side of the triangle or the diagonal of a quadrilateral.

Many of these Japanese problems are available in English in a Canadian book now out of print.

The book is

Japanese Temple Geometry (San Gaku) by Hidetosi Fukagawa and Dan Pedoe

There is also a publication available for free in PDF form of many problems that can be obtained from

Japanese Temple Mathematical problems in Nagano Pref. Japan

This publication is divided into 5 PDF files and contain many problems

Some more links to Sangaku

http://www.sangaku.info/

http://www.wasan.jp/english/

http://www.cut-the-knot.org/pythagoras/Sangaku.shtml

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