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Horiuchi Annick

Modern Historian of Japanese Mathematics

Annick Horiuchi (born 1957) is a French-Japanese historian of mathematics who has specialized in the study of Japanese Wasan and its relation to global mathematics. Though a contemporary scholar rather than a classical mathematician, her work has been crucial for understanding the historical development of mathematics in East Asia.

Horiuchi has analyzed the contributions of Japanese mathematicians such as Seki Takakazu, Arima Yoriyuki, and others, situating their discoveries within both local and global contexts. She highlights how Japanese mathematicians developed methods resembling determinants, series, and algebraic expansions independent of European influence. For instance, she has studied Japanese solutions to polynomial equations of the form: \ and shown how Wasan mathematicians approached these problems through innovative algebraic techniques.

Her writings also stress the educational and cultural dimensions of mathematics in Edo-period Japan, demonstrating how temple schools, competitions, and sangaku (mathematical tablets) encouraged public participation in mathematical problem-solving. By analyzing these practices, she revealed the social vitality of mathematics in early modern Japan.

Horiuchi’s scholarship provides modern readers with a deeper appreciation of Japanese mathematics as a unique and sophisticated tradition. Though not a creator of new mathematics herself, her role in interpreting and preserving the intellectual heritage of East Asia makes her an essential figure in the broader story of global science.