Kimura’s contributions on Earth polar motion studies

抄録

Kimura’s discovery of z-term in the polar motion (Astron. J. 22, 107 (1902) and Astron. Nachr. 158, 233 (1902)) was recognized as an epoch-making scientific achievement for modern Japan, opening its doors to the world in 1868. Although Kimura served as the chair of the International Latitude Service during 1922–1934 and made efforts to interpret the z-term, it was unsuccessful. The physical interpretation of the z-term was given decades later by Wako (PASJ, 22, 525 (1970)). This article highlights Kimura’s additional contributions that led to the interpretation by Wako.