Who was this person?
An Edo-period merchant and surveyor. Adopted into the Inō family of Sawara in Shimōsa, he revived its business; on retiring around 50 he went to Edo to study astronomy under Takahashi Yoshitoki. From 1800 he spent 17 years surveying the whole country on foot, and his work was completed after his death, in 1821, as the Dai Nihon Enkai Yochi Zenzu map.
| Name | Inō Tadataka (伊能忠敬) |
|---|---|
| Born–died | 1745 – 1818 |
| Period | Edo period |
| Birthplace | Koseki village, Kazusa Province (now Kujūkuri, Chiba) |
| Also known as | Sanjirō (childhood name), Kageyu |
| Main achievements |
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Born in a village near Kujūkuri beach in Kazusa (Chiba).
He married into and was adopted by the Inō, a merchant house of Sawara in Shimōsa (Katori). He revived its sake brewing and rice trading and made the family prosperous.
During the Tenmei famine, as village headman he sold rice cheaply and distributed it, helping the suffering.
He handed the business to his eldest son and retired, resolving to devote himself to astronomy and calendar science, his passion since youth.
In Edo he became a pupil of the shogunate astronomer Takahashi Yoshitoki. Though Yoshitoki was nineteen years his junior, he studied astronomy and surveying with zeal.
Wanting accurate distances to work out the size of the earth, he obtained shogunate permission and set out at 55 to survey Ezo (Hokkaido).
His accuracy recognized, he went on to survey the eastern coasts of Honshu. He reportedly measured distance by walking with an even stride.
His teacher Takahashi Yoshitoki died. Deeply grieved, Tadataka carried on surveying.
The survey became an official shogunate project and moved on to western Japan, Shikoku and Kyushu, growing into a large operation with many team members.
Finally surveying the city of Edo, he concluded seventeen years of fieldwork. The distance he walked is said to approach the earth's circumference.
He died in Edo before the map was finished. His pupils carried on, and the Dai Nihon Enkai Yochi Zenzu was later completed.
A. An Edo-period merchant and surveyor. Adopted into the Inō family of Sawara in Shimōsa, he revived its business; on retiring around 50 he went to Edo to study astronomy under Takahashi Yoshitoki. From 1800 he spent 17 years surveying the whole country on foot, and his work was completed after his death, in 1821, as the Dai Nihon Enkai Yochi Zenzu map.
A. Period: Edo period. Born in 1745, died in 1818.
A. Inō Tadataka was born in Koseki village, Kazusa Province (now Kujūkuri, Chiba).
A. Inō died in 1818, so his assistants finished it, presenting the Dai Nihon Enkai Yochi Zenzu to the shogunate in 1821. It was remarkably accurate and remained in use long after the Meiji Restoration.
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People of the Edo period ・ People by period
Based on facts found in textbooks and biographies. Uncertain points are marked as such.