Japanese clock

mechanical clock that has been made to tell traditional Japanese time

The Japanese clock is a device made to tell the time according to Japanese tradition.[1]

Edo period clock in collection of Tokyo National Science Museum.

These clocks were introduced to Japan via Jesuit missionaries in the 16th century.[1]

In 1612, the clockmaker of Philip II of Spain created a working timepiece which became a gift for Tokugawa Ieyasu.[1]

One of the major features of the Japanese clock is that it has a mechanism for measuring unequal temporal hours. Usual clock tells hours at same intervals, but in the Japanese traditional timekeeping practice, a day had six daytime units from sunrise to sunset and six night units from sunset to sunrise. Then the Japanese clock was designed to adapt to this practice.[2]

References change

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Clocks" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 132.
  2. Shibayama, Miyuki. "~和時計の暮らし~". Archived from the original on 2016-04-05. Retrieved 2016-02-02.