Kaitai Shinsho
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Kaitai Shinsho (解体新書, Kyūjitai: 解體新書, roughly meaning "New Text on Anatomy") is a medical text translated into Japanese during the Edo period. It was written by Sugita Genpaku, and was published by Suharaya Ichibee (須原屋市兵衛) in 1774, the third year of An'ei. The body comprises four volumes, the illustrations, one. The contents are written kanbun-style. It is based on the Dutch-language translation Ontleedkundige Tafelen,[1] often known in Japan as Tafel Anatomie (ターヘル・アナトミア, Tāheru Anatomia), of Johann Adam Kulmus’ Latin Tabulae Anatomicae, published before 1722 (exact year is unknown) in Gdańsk, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[2] As a full-blown translation from a Western language, it was the first of its kind in Japan.
Background
On 4 March 1771, the eighth year of
At first, Sugita and Nakagawa could not actually read
In the second year of An'ei (1773), as they arrived at a translation goal, in order to ascertain society's and above all the authorities' response, they released the "Anatomical Diagrams" (解体約図, Kaitai Yakuzu), a five-page flyer.
In 1774, Kaitai Shinsho was published.
Influences
Maeno Ryōtaku was at the center of the translation work, but his name is only mentioned in the dedication written by the famous interpreter
There are others that had to do with the translation work, like
Content
Kaitai Shinsho is generally said to be a translation of Ontleedkundige Tafelen. However, other than the work itself,
The book is not a mere translation; the translation was done mostly by Maeno Ryōtaku and then transponed into classical Chinese by Sugita. There are notes in various places left by Sugita, as leftovers from the work. All those lengthy footnotes that cover more than 50% of Kulmus' book were left out.
The contents are split into four volumes:
- Volume I
- General remarks; forms and names; parts of the body; skeletal structure: general remarks about joints; skeletal structure: detailed exposition about joints.
- Volume II
- The head; the mouth; the brain and nerves; the eyes; the ears; the nose; the tongue.
- Volume III
- The .
- Volume IV
- The muscles.
The illustrations only comprise one volume.
Effect afterwards
After the publication of the Kaitai Shinsho, there was besides the development in medical science, the progress of the comprehension of the Dutch language. Also, it is important to note that Japan, even under its extreme isolationist policies, still had some foundation to understand the products of Western culture. It also helped to give a chance for promotion for such talents as those of Ōtsuki Gentaku.
In translation, some words had to be coined (that is, there were no Japanese words that existed for them prior to the work). Some of them, such as the terms for "nerve" (神経, shinkei), "cartilage" (軟骨, nankotsu), and "artery" (動脈, dōmyaku) are still used to this day as a result. A great number of anatomical terms were transliterated using Chinese characters. They disappeared quickly during the following decades.
The fact that this was a first translation means that misunderstandings were practically unavoidable. There are many mistranslations in the Kaitai Shinsho; later on, Ōtsuki Gentaku retranslated it and released the Authoritative and Revised New Text on Anatomy (重訂解体新書, Chōtei Kaitai Shinsho) in the ninth year of Bunsei (1826).
In his last years, Sugita Genpaku would write about the work on Kaitai Shinsho in The Beginnings of Rangaku (蘭学事始, Rangaku Koto Hajime). This text had a great influence on writings about the modernization of Japanese medicine.
See also
- Sugita Genpaku
- Nakagawa Jun'an
- Satake Shozan
- Hiraga Gennai
- Kaitai-Shin Show (an educational program on NHK)
References
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (November 2014) |
- ^ Ontleedkundige tafelen, benevens de daar toe behoorende afbeeldingen en aanmerkingen, waarin het zaamenstel des menschelyken lichaams, en het gebruik van alle des zelfs deelen, afgebeeld en geleerd word, door Johan Adam Kulmus, ... In het Neederduitsch gebragt door Gerardus Dicten, chirurgyn te Leyden. Te Amsterdam, by de Janssoons van Waesberge, 1734.
- ^ Szarszewski, Adam (2009). "Johann Adam Kulmus, "Tabulae Anatomicae", Gdańsk 1722 – Sugita Genpaku, "Kaitai Shinsho", Edo 1774". Annales Academiae Medicae Gedanensis (39): 133–144. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- ISBN 0-7007-1719-6.
- ISBN 4-480-85729-X.
External links
- Johann Adam Kulmus. Kaitai shinsho. Illustrations from the original text. Historical Anatomies on the Web, National Library of Medicine.
- (in Japanese) Kaitai Shinsho