Yoshio Kosaku
Encyclopedia
, also known as was a Japanese physician and scholar of "Dutch studies" (Rangaku
), and the chief Dutch translator in Nagasaki
, often accompanying Dutch East India Company
officials on missions to Edo
and other official business.
As a member of one of the five samurai
families supported by the Tokugawa shogunate
as hereditary official Dutch translators, Kōsaku vetted imported documents (Christian materials were prohibited in Edo period
Japan) and helped to keep the shogunate informed of global political matters. From roughly 1770 to 1800, he served as the chief mediator between the Dutch community on Dejima
and the shogunate.
Kōsaku was quite prolific in his writings, and has been described as "perhaps ... the most knowledgeable person [in Japan] about the West in his day." He maintained a Dutch style home and Dutch-style medical school, which at times enrolled up to six hundred students. Kōsaku wrote thirty-nine works, mostly on topics related to rangaku, and mentored a number of students, including Sugita Genpaku
.
Kōsaku was critical at times, in his writing, of Japanese society, and in particular of the attitudes and manners of the citizens of Edo, the shogunal capital. In conjunction with a journey to Edo in 1774, accompanying officials of the Dutch East India Company, Kōsaku wrote that Edo ought to serve as an example to the rest of the nation, and that the interests of the people of Edo were limited to the pursuit of profit. This document, included as part of a preface to the first integral translation of a European book to be published, was but one of many written by rangaku scholars at this time implying a need to rethink the Japanese attitude of Europeans as barbarians and of China as the only model for enlightened civilization.
Japanese scholars, officials, and artists visiting Nagasaki frequently made a point of visiting Kōsaku; his lectures and Dutch-style home attracted great interest. Ranga
painter Shiba Kōkan
visited Kōsaku in 1788, stayed at Kōsaku's home for a few nights, and was given a tour of Dejima. A portrait he painted on that occasion depicting Kōsaku, partially in the style of Western oil paintings and partially in Japanese ukiyo-e
style, survives today. The diaries of physician Tachibana Nankei, who also stayed at Kōsaku's Dutch-style home for a time, include descriptions of that home. The house featured a Dutch-style lie-down bathtub, a Western-style green-painted staircase rather than the unpainted, ladder-like stairs typical of Japanese homes, window drapes, and chairs which Nankei described as "grueling" to sit on, being more used to sitting on a tatami
floor. Kōsaku also maintained a collection of European books, paintings, and other objects such as eyeglasses and mirror paintings.
Rangaku
Rangaku is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of Western technology and medicine in the period when the country was closed to foreigners, 1641–1853, because of the Tokugawa shogunate’s policy of national...
), and the chief Dutch translator in Nagasaki
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Nagasaki was founded by the Portuguese in the second half of the 16th century on the site of a small fishing village, formerly part of Nishisonogi District...
, often accompanying Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
officials on missions to Edo
Edo
, also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
and other official business.
As a member of one of the five samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
families supported by the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
as hereditary official Dutch translators, Kōsaku vetted imported documents (Christian materials were prohibited in Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
Japan) and helped to keep the shogunate informed of global political matters. From roughly 1770 to 1800, he served as the chief mediator between the Dutch community on Dejima
Dejima
was a small fan-shaped artificial island built in the bay of Nagasaki in 1634. This island, which was formed by digging a canal through a small peninsula, remained as the single place of direct trade and exchange between Japan and the outside world during the Edo period. Dejima was built to...
and the shogunate.
Kōsaku was quite prolific in his writings, and has been described as "perhaps ... the most knowledgeable person [in Japan] about the West in his day." He maintained a Dutch style home and Dutch-style medical school, which at times enrolled up to six hundred students. Kōsaku wrote thirty-nine works, mostly on topics related to rangaku, and mentored a number of students, including Sugita Genpaku
Sugita Genpaku
was a Japanese scholar who was known for his translation of Kaitai Shinsho .Besides Kaitai Shinsho, he also authored Rangaku Kotohajime ....
.
Kōsaku was critical at times, in his writing, of Japanese society, and in particular of the attitudes and manners of the citizens of Edo, the shogunal capital. In conjunction with a journey to Edo in 1774, accompanying officials of the Dutch East India Company, Kōsaku wrote that Edo ought to serve as an example to the rest of the nation, and that the interests of the people of Edo were limited to the pursuit of profit. This document, included as part of a preface to the first integral translation of a European book to be published, was but one of many written by rangaku scholars at this time implying a need to rethink the Japanese attitude of Europeans as barbarians and of China as the only model for enlightened civilization.
Japanese scholars, officials, and artists visiting Nagasaki frequently made a point of visiting Kōsaku; his lectures and Dutch-style home attracted great interest. Ranga
Ranga
Ranga may refer to:* B. S. Ranga , Indian photographer* S. V. Ranga Rao , South Indian actor, director and producer* Ranga Sohoni , Indian Test cricketer* Ranga Ediriwickrama, Australian rules footballer...
painter Shiba Kōkan
Shiba Kokan
, born Suzuki Harushige , was a Japanese painter and printmaker of the Edo period, famous both for his Western-style yōga paintings, in imitation of Dutch oil painting styles, methods, and themes, which he painted as Kōkan, and his ukiyo-e prints, primarily forgeries of the works of Suzuki...
visited Kōsaku in 1788, stayed at Kōsaku's home for a few nights, and was given a tour of Dejima. A portrait he painted on that occasion depicting Kōsaku, partially in the style of Western oil paintings and partially in Japanese ukiyo-e
Ukiyo-e
' is a genre of Japanese woodblock prints and paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries, featuring motifs of landscapes, tales from history, the theatre, and pleasure quarters...
style, survives today. The diaries of physician Tachibana Nankei, who also stayed at Kōsaku's Dutch-style home for a time, include descriptions of that home. The house featured a Dutch-style lie-down bathtub, a Western-style green-painted staircase rather than the unpainted, ladder-like stairs typical of Japanese homes, window drapes, and chairs which Nankei described as "grueling" to sit on, being more used to sitting on a tatami
Tatami
A is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Traditionally made of rice straw to form the core , with a covering of woven soft rush straw, tatami are made in standard sizes, with the length exactly twice the width...
floor. Kōsaku also maintained a collection of European books, paintings, and other objects such as eyeglasses and mirror paintings.