HIROKAWA, Kai.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Nagasaki bunkenroku ("Things Heard and Seen in Nagasaki"). First edition of this seminal work describing the author's visit to Nagasaki. It became widely popular as a source of knowledge about the Dutch and the Chinese, with illustrations of foreign ships, flora and fauna, products such as cinnamon, and even mythological creatures such as the kaijin, a sea-dwelling humanoid.After the Tokugawa shogunate closed Japan in the early 17th century, they continued to permit trade with foreign countries exclusively on the artificial island of Dejima in Nagasaki. This was limited to delegations of the Dutch and the Chinese, who were not viewed as likely to undermine the shogunate's power or spread Catholicism. Nagasaki became the only place where the Japanese could learn of Western thought (rangaku) or Chinese art.Hirokawa Kai was a physician who practiced in Kyoto as the personal doctor to Prince Kacho. From 1790 to 1793 and 1795 to 1798, he resided in Nagasaki, studying Dutch medicine with Yoshio Kogyu. In this work, he recorded the people, customs, and items he saw in the city. These included depictions of the people themselves, but also new items such as coffee pots, Dutch medicine kits, and telescopes. One of the most striking illustrations is of a kaijin, which, according to rumour, had had been captured in the Netherlands.

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.