Kowa Seki (Seki Takakazu, 関 孝和) (1642? – October 24, 1708) was a Japanesemathematician. created a new mathematical notation system and used it to discover many of the theorems and theories that were being - or were shortly to be - discovered in the West, including recreating major results in calculus. He was a contemporary with Gottfried Leibniz and Isaac Newton, although he is not known to have had contact with them.
Seki was born in Fujioka in Gunma prefecture. Much of his reputation stems from the social reform he introduced in order to develop the study of mathematics in Japan and make it widely accessible.
He introduced Kanji to represent unknowns and variables in equations, and although he was obliged to confine his work to equations up to the fifth degree - his algebraic alphabet (endan-jutsu) was not suitable for general equations of the nth degree. He was able to create equations with literal coefficients of any degree and with several variables, and to solve simultaneous equations. In this way he was able to derive the equivalent of f(x), and thereby to arrive at the notion of a discriminant - a special function of the root of an equation expressible in terms of the coefficients.
Another of Seki's contributions was the rectification of the circle, i.e. the calculation of pi; he obtained a value for that was correct to the 18th decimal place.
He was self-educated in mathematics having been introduced to the topic by a servant in the household who, when Seki was nine years old, realised the talent of the young boy.
When his lord became heir to the Shogun, Seki became Shogunate samurai and in 1704 was given a position of honor as master of ceremonies in the Shogun's household.
The work is remarkable for the careful analysis of the problems which Seki made and this certainly was one of the reasons for his great success as a teacher.
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