Reviewed by:

• Making Time: Astronomical Time Measurement in Tokugawa Japan by Yulia Frumer
• David Wittner (bio)

Making Time: Astronomical Time Measurement in Tokugawa Japan By Yulia Frumer. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018. Pp. vii + 270.

Japan's adoption of Western timekeeping and the Gregorian calendar during the Meiji era was part and parcel to its rush to modernize, or so it is assumed. In Making Time, Yulia Frumer argues that the Japanese only adopted Western timekeeping after it was "integrate[d] … into their web of associations related to practices of time measurement" and matched society's prevailing assumptions regarding time (p. 3). Toward this end, she traces the evolution of [End Page 600] Tokugawa era astronomical timekeeping to show how intellectuals became increasingly sophisticated in their efforts to measure time and space more accurately. European contributions entered Japan's scientific lexicon only when they solved problems; transferred technologies had less to do with being Western and everything to do with utility.

Making Time is a welcome addition to the history of time measurement and timekeeping in early modern Japan. Although others have written on the history of time in Japan, there is little on the early modern era, and most are studies of clocks as artifacts or Japan's variable-hour timekeeping system. Whereas Frumer also discusses the history of Japanese clocks, their mechanisms, and the variable-hour system, this serves as an introduction to Tokugawa intellectuals' thoughts about time, the nature of technology transfer, and how European clocks were modified to fit Japanese social and temporal conventions. Adapting European mechanical clocks to Tokugawa concepts of time illustrates Frumer's underlying argument; technologies and foreign knowledge are translated through the language of social environments.

Frumer introduces her readers to several important figures in Japan's history of science, all the while demonstrating intellectuals' growing acceptance of mechanical clocks in their pursuit of precision. She discusses several Tokugawa era calendrical reforms and how the unintended consequence of trying to create a more accurate calendrical algorithm "inspired an appreciation of Western-style timekeeping" (p. 59). Later chapters examine the relation between geodetic surveying, marine navigation, astronomical time-keeping, and mechanical clocks. Frumer aptly demonstrates that intellectuals recognized the efficacy of fixed-length intervals of time—if only for specific purposes. Western time was one of several temporal options available to the Japanese; it was neither universally accepted nor adopted in late Tokugawa Japan. Japanese scholars' understanding of time, however, changed through their interaction with Western timepieces.

Moving on, Frumer presents case studies of an official's attempt to create a local timekeeping system, and of clock and karakuri (automata) makers. Here she argues that time was no longer the exclusive purview of a "select group of high-ranking specialists," and that clockmakers served as intermediaries between specialists and the public (p. 131). The public's increasing familiarity with specialized knowledge and clockworks facilitated the acceptance of Western time among the general urban public.

The last chapter examines Japan's 1873 calendrical reform. Despite shedding light on some of the government's motivations for adopting the Western calendar, this chapter is not the strongest. Frumer argues that proponents of adopting Western time created a culture of "inconvenience" to describe Japan's traditional timekeeping practices, and that the demand for watches and appeals to adopt Western time were a popular expression of Japan's familiarity with Western timekeeping, frequently couched in the [End Page 601] terminology of modernity, "civilization and enlightenment." Being "modern" mattered in early Meiji Japan. There were practical considerations to adopting Western time. Frumer notes in the beginning of the book that Japanese timekeeping devices required constant regulation to account for variable-length hours. Was not Western time simply easier? The Gregorian calendar shortened the government's fiscal year, but came with significant cultural baggage, such as a six-day work week followed by the Sabbath that influenced government factory management practices. It is unfortunate these points are not addressed.

Making Time is written with several audiences in mind. The minutia of Japanese timekeeping and calendrical practice—lists of traditional...

审核人：

• 制作时间： Yulia Frumer在日本德川进行的天文时间测量
• 大卫·维特纳（生物）

制作时间：日本德川的天文时间测量，作者 Yulia Frumer。芝加哥：芝加哥大学出版社，2018 年。Pp。七 + 270。

日本在明治时代采用西方计时和公历是其急于现代化的重要组成部分，或者是这样假设的。在《创造时间》中，尤利娅·弗鲁默 (Yulia Frumer) 认为，日本人只有在“将 [d] ……整合到与时间测量实践相关的关联网络中”并符合社会对时间的普遍假设（第 3 页）后才采用西方计时。为此，她追溯了[End Page 600]德川时代天文计时的演变，以展示知识分子如何在努力更准确地测量时间和空间方面变得越来越成熟。欧洲的贡献只有在解决问题时才进入日本的科学词典；

制作时间是现代日本早期时间测量和计时历史的一个受欢迎的补充。虽然其他人已经写过日本的时间史，但关于近代早期的研究很少，而且大多数是将钟表作为文物或日本的可变小时计时系统的研究。尽管 Frumer 还讨论了日本时钟的历史、它们的机制和可变小时系统，但这是介绍德川知识分子关于时间、技术转移的性质以及欧洲时钟如何修改以适应日本社会和社会的想法。时间约定。使欧洲机械钟适应德川的时间概念说明了 Frumer 的基本论点；技术和外国知识通过社会环境语言进行翻译。

Frumer 向她的读者介绍了日本科学史上的几位重要人物，同时展示了知识分子在追求精度的过程中越来越接受机械钟。她讨论了德川时代的几项历法改革，以及试图创建更准确的历法算法的意外后果如何“激发了对西式计时的欣赏”（第 59 页）。后面的章节研究了大地测量、航海、天文计时和机械钟之间的关系。弗鲁默恰当地表明，知识分子认识到固定时间间隔的有效性——即使只是为了特定目的。西方时间是日本人可以选择的几种时间选择之一。在德川后期的日本，它既没有被普遍接受，也没有被采用。

接下来，Frumer 介绍了一位官员尝试创建本地计时系统以及时钟和karakuri（自动机）制造商的案例研究。在这里，她认为时间不再是“精选的高级专家组”的专属权限，钟表匠充当专家和公众之间的中介（第 131 页）。公众对专业知识和发条的日益熟悉促进了普通城市公众对西方时间的接受。

最后一章考察了日本 1873 年的历法改革。尽管阐明了政府采用西方历法的一些动机，但本章并不是最有力的。Frumer 认为，采用西方时间的支持者创造了一种描述日本传统计时实践的“不便”文化，对手表的需求和采用西方时间的呼吁是日本熟悉西方计时的流行表达，经常出现在[第601页]现代性的术语，“文明与启蒙”。在明治初期的日本，“现代”很重要。采用西方时间是有实际考虑的。Frumer 在书的开头指出，日本的计时设备需要不断调节以应对可变长度的小时数。西方时间不是更容易吗？公历缩短了政府的财政年度，但伴随着重要的文化包袱，例如一周工作六天，然后是安息日，影响了政府工厂的管理实践。不幸的是，这些问题没有得到解决。

《创造时间》是为多位观众而写的。日本计时和日历实践的细节——传统…