Abstract Why did scholars in mid-nineteenth century Japan assume that the prime meridian should run through Kyoto – positioning the city not only as the center of Japan but also of the entire world? Tracing the close connections between longitude determination, astronomical time measurement, and calendar compilation, this article argues that the making of Kyoto-centered place was rooted in the use of astronomical time as a tool for analyzing celestial and geographical space. This article first shows that the existence of a prime meridian on Japanese maps was the result of astronomical timekeeping practices used by an early nineteenth-century surveyor, Inō Tadataka. It then traces the decision to draw the prime meridian specifically through Kyoto to various centuries-old calendrical conventions, the astronomical work of Shibukawa Shunkai, and the metaphysics of seventeenth-century philosopher Yamazaki Ansai. The article emphasizes the role that practices of measurement, calculation, and observation played in the shaping of a map, the appearance of which eventually manifested the idea of the place it purportedly represents.

中文翻译：

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京都与天堂​​：设定日本的时间中心

摘要 为什么 19 世纪中叶的日本学者认为本初子午线应该贯穿京都——不仅将京都定位为日本的中心，而且定位为整个世界的中心？本文追溯经度测定、天文时间测量和日历编制之间的密切联系，认为以京都为中心的地方的形成植根于使用天文时间作为分析天文和地理空间的工具。本文首先表明，日本地图上本初子午线的存在是 19 世纪早期测量师 Inō Tadataka 使用的天文计时实践的结果。然后将本初子午线专门通过京都绘制的决定追溯到各种具有数百年历史的历法惯例，涩川顺海的天文工作，以及 17 世纪哲学家山崎安斋的形而上学。文章强调了测量、计算和观察的实践在地图的形成中所起的作用，地图的出现最终体现了它据称代表的地方的概念。