Maeno Ryōtaku

Maeno Ryōtaku

Jizō Boddhisatva ( Ksitigarbha ) from Kozukappara to comfort the souls of the executed (Enmei Temple, Tōkyō, Arakawa-ku)

Kaitai shinsho . The frontispiece was taken from the Antwerp edition of Joan de Valverda de Hamusco's Historia de la composicion del cuerpo humano and revised.

Beginning of the text of the Kaitai shinsho with the name Sugita Genpakus as the responsible translator

Maeno Ryōtaku ( Japanese 前 野 良 沢 , also Maeno Ranka ( 前 野 蘭 化 ); * 1723 in Edo , Japan ; † November 30, 1803 there) was a Japanese doctor and pioneer of "Hollandkunde" ( Rangaku ), who with his decisive contribution to The creation of the “New Book of Anatomy” ( Kaitai shinsho ) set a milestone in the country's medical history.

Life

Maeno Ryōtaku was born in Edo in the residence of the Fukuoka clan as the son of Minamoto Shinsuke ( 源 新 介 ), but lost both parents at an early age, which is why he grew up with his great-uncle Miyata Zentaku ( 宮 田 全 沢 ), a doctor of the Yodo clan . Miyata was a respected follower of the "school of old practice" ( 古 医 方 派 Ko-ihōha ), which, stimulated by the old classic Shanghanlun ( 傷寒 論 Shōkanron ), rejected the rigid doctrines of later times and attached great importance to personal observations and experiences. Maeno's medical foundation was laid in this family. In 1748 he was adopted by the Maeno family, from which Miyata's wife came, and as a successor to his adoptive father he became a doctor of the Nakatsu fief with an annual rice income of 200 to 300 Koku .

About five years earlier he had seen a Dutch book from a friend of this clan, which sparked his curiosity, so that he was instructed by the "Holland scholar" Aoki Konyō ( 青木 昆陽 , 1698–1769) regardless of his advanced age . Far from the much more linguistically competent interpreters at the Dutch trading office Dejima in Nagasaki , however, as far as Aoki's writings suggest, a small basic vocabulary and rudimentary knowledge of grammar remained.

Like all regional rulers ( daimyō ), the lord of Nakatsu, Okudaira Masaka ( 奥 平 昌 鹿 , 1744–1780 ) commuted with a large entourage in regular rotation between his residences in the fiefdom of Nakatsu and the court town of the Shogun in Edo. In 1769 Maeno was given the opportunity to take part in the sovereign's return trip to Nakatsu in the east of the island of Kyushus. At that time his language studies had attracted the benevolent attention of the lord, so that he was allowed to move for about 100 days to Nagasaki , only a few days' journey away , the only port in Japan where Dutch ships were allowed to enter. There was probably no direct encounter with the Europeans isolated in their Dejima trading post , but Maeno got to know the language and medical studies of well-known interpreters, among whom Yoshio Kōsaku alias Kōgyū was known nationwide. He also came into possession of a Dutch edition of the "Anatomical Tables" by the Breslau physician Johann Adam Kulmus (1689–1745).

In Edo there lived some spiritual companions who were interested in Western medicine and natural sciences, but who, due to a lack of language skills, were dependent on the Japanese excerpts and therapy descriptions of Nagasaki's interpreters, which were circulating in the country. 1771 would receive one of the leaders of this group, Sugita Genpaku , along with Maeno Ryōtaku, Nakagawa Jun'an , Katsuragawa Hoshu and others the opportunity of a section at the place Kozukappara ( 小塚原 even Kozukahara;. Lit. grave mound field) on the exit road to the province Mutsu to attend. For this purpose, Maeno and Sugita brought the Ontleed-expert tables from Kulmus with them. The consistency of the images with what they saw was so impressive that they decided to translate the book on the way home.

Because of their completely inadequate language skills and expertise, it took them several years for this company. For organs such as the liver, heart, etc., there was already an old terminology adopted from Chinese. For hitherto unknown things, Chinese characters were combined in some cases, which imitate the structure and meaning of the Dutch word (ndl. Slagader : 動脈 dōmyaku ; ndl. Blindedarm : 盲腸 mōchō ). Sometimes new words were created, some of which were also used in the Chinese language in the 19th century, for example in the case of "nerves" ( Dutch zenuw : 神 経 shinkei , Chinese shénjīng ). In many cases, the simple transliteration of the Dutch sound using Chinese characters such as B. with the word "gland" (ndl. Klier : 機 里爾 kiriru ) could not hold up. These terms were replaced by more easily understandable new creations as anatomical knowledge increased.

Maeno had the majority of the translation into Japanese. On this basis Sugita obtained a version in the written Chinese language ( Kambun ). When he finally wanted to have the text printed, the Maeno, still dissatisfied with the result, withdrew his name. Sugita ignored his concerns and, as an advance notice, had a few test sheets printed under the name Kaitai Yakuzu ( 解体 約 図 'Brief Illustrations of Anatomy' ) in 1773 in order to test the demand and the reaction of the authorities. Since no printing ban was issued, the full text including the illustrations appeared as a wood block print the following year under the title “New Book of Anatomy” ( 解体 新書 Kaitai shinsho ). The famous interpreter Yoshio Kōsaku was asked for a preface in which he mentions Maeno Ryōtaku. At the beginning of the text, however, only Sugita appears as translator, followed by Nakagawa Jun'an, Ishikawa Genjō and Katsuragawa Hoshū in a subordinate checking function.

The work was useless in medical practice. however, the detailed anatomical representations aroused the medical profession's interest in the actual conditions of the “inner landscapes” ( 内景naikei ) of the human body. As a result, interest in anatomical studies and cadaveric sections increased. However, since the execution sites were under the supervision of the authorities, their permission was required. The Maeno, who remained in the shadows, continued his studies with undiminished zeal, neglecting his duties as a lieutenant doctor. The understanding sovereign, who had grasped the importance of these activities, granted him a lot of freedom for this, and gave him a. a. an edition of the "Practyk der Medicine" by Henricus Buyzen and finally gave him the nickname Ranka (about as much as "Holland (kunde) -Monster"). From Maeno's notes it is clear that he used both Dutch and Latin reference works. His writing Oranda yakusen ( 和 蘭 訳 筌 ) was copied many times as an introduction to reading and translation techniques . When the advance of the Russians in eastern Siberia as far as the Sakhalin peninsula caused considerable unrest among the leaders of the empire and among the country's intellectuals, Maeno began studying Russia. Ōtsuki Gentaku and Ema Ransai made a name for themselves among his students . As he got older, he suffered from eye problems and gout. He died at the age of 81 and was buried in the Keian Temple ( 慶安 寺 Keian-ji ).

Maeno's pioneering achievements were known among the country's “Holland scholars”, but he was largely hidden from the public. After Sugita Genpaku put his memoirs on the "Beginning of Holland Studies" ( Rangaku koto hajime ) on paper in old age and these were finally published by Fukuzawa Yukichi in 1869 , Maeno first caused a general stir.

Sugita's description of the torments while translating the "Ontleedkundige Tafelen" made a deep impression on Fukuzawa. Like Maeno, Fukuzawa worked for the Nakatsu fiefdom and, as one of the great intellectuals of the Meiji Restoration, made lasting historical merits. On the occasion of the first meeting of the newly founded "Japanese Society for Medicine" ( Nihon igakkai ) in 1890, he published the text again and preceded it with a moving foreword. Since then, Sugita Genpaku, Maeno Ryōtaku and the Kaitai shinsho mark a turning point in the history of medicine in Japan. Fukuzawa's project of building a memorial hall for Maeno ( 蘭 化 堂 Ranka-dō ) could not be realized. All of Maeno's writings, as far as they have survived, are now published in three volumes ( Maeno Ryōtaku shiryōshū ). New, in-depth studies provide an in-depth picture of this somewhat solitary pioneer in exploring the Dutch language and Western medicine.

Fonts

• Sugita Genpaku et al .: Kaitaishinsho. Suharaya Ichibē, Edo 1774. ( 與 般 亜 覃 闕 児 武 思 著, 杉 田 玄 白 訳, 吉雄永 章 撰, 中 川 淳 庵 校, 石川玄 常 参, 桂川甫 周 閲, 小 田野 直 武 [図] 『解体 武』 』 : 須 原 屋 市 兵衞, 安永 3 [1774] 年刊 )
• Maeno Ryōtaku shiryōshū. Ōitaken Kyōikuiinkai (Ōitaken Sentetsu Sōsho), Vol. 1, 2008; Vol. 2, 2009; Vol. 3, 2010 ( 『前 野 良 沢 資料 集』 、 駿 台 史学 会 大分 県 教育 委員会 (大分 県 先哲 叢書) )

literature

• Rangaku kotohajime = The beginnings of the "Holland customer" by Sugita Genpaku (1733-1818) (= Monumenta Nipponica. Volume V, Semi-Annual No. 1, No. 2) Translated by Kōichi Mōri. Sophia University, Tokyo 1942.
• Michel, Wolfgang: Exploring the "Inner Landscapes" - The Kaitai shinsho (1774) and its Prehistory . In: Yonsei Journal of Medical History, Vol. 21 (2), pp. 7-34 .
• Torii, Yumiko: Maeno Ryōtaku - bangaku no isai . In: Michel / Torii / Kawashima (ed): Kyūshū no rangaku - ekkyō to kōryū. Shibunkaku Shuppan, 2009, pp. 59–65 ( 鳥 井 裕美子 「前 野 良 沢 ー 晩 学 の 異 才」 (ヴ ォ ル フ ガ ン グ ・ ・ ミ ヒ ェ ル 鳥 井 裕美子 川 嶌 眞 人 共 出版 『『 』越境 蘭) ). 』 の 蘭 )
• Torii, Yumiko: Maeno Ryōtaku . Ōitaken Kyōikuiinkai (Ōitaken Sentetsu Sōsho), 2013 ( 鳥 居 由美子 『前 野 良 沢』 大分 県 教育 委員会 (大分 県 先哲 叢書) ).
• Torii, Yumiko: Maeno Ryōtaku - shōgai ichinichi no gotoku . Shibunkaku Shuppan, 2015 ( 鳥 居 由美子 『前 野 良 沢 生涯 一日 の ご ご と く』 思 文 閣 出版 ).

Web links

Commons : Maeno Ryōtaku  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Directory of important writings by and about Maeno Ryōtaku in the "Database of Pre-Modern Japanese Works" ( National Institute of Japanese Literature )
• Ontleedkundige Tafelen ... Door Johan Adam Kulmus ... In het Neederduitsch gebragt Door Gerardus Dicten ... Te Amsterdam, 1734 ( Digitalisat Keio University, Tokyo)
• Jūtei Kaitai shinsho , digitized illustration volume from Waseda University, Tokyo

Notes, individual references

1. ↑ Japanese calendar : Kyōhō 8
2. ↑ Japanese calendar : Kyōwa 3/10/17
3. ↑ Anatomical tables, along with related notes and coppers ... which the beginners of the anatomy for convenient guidance in this other edition has written Johann Adam Kulmus ... Dantzig to be found by Cornelius von Beughem; printed by Thomas Johann Schreiber… 1725 . This was a relatively easy to understand textbook written for practical use. The Dutch translation, printed under the title Ontleedkundige Tafelen 1734, was provided by the Leiden surgeon Gerard (us) Dicten (1696–1770).
4. ↑ This was a hellish place where poorly buried corpses and body parts rotted away, giving off a pestilential stench when the temperature rose. According to estimates, in this place alone from the middle of the 17th century. about 200,000 people executed by 1873. Today, large parts of the area are under railroad tracks.
5. ↑ Maeno's concerns were well founded. The translation contained numerous abbreviations and errors.
6. ↑ Whenever possible, all publications that would cause unrest in the population were suppressed.
7. ↑ In Europe too, doctors at first had little to do with the anatomical discoveries that Andreas Vesalius published in his famous work De humani corporis fabrica .
8. ↑ In 1913 the temple was moved to the Suginami ( Suginami-ku ) district.
9. ↑ Fukuzawa's project description is in the media center (library) of the Keiō Gijuku private school he founded in 1858 , today Keiō University.

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus Maeno is the family name, Ryōtaku the first name.