What was dutch learning in japan

By far most of these would have been used for the purpose they were designed for, that is, as a learning aid for those in Japan who were interested in the West and wanted to know more about the Dutch language, either in an attempt to come to terms with the Dutch books on science and technology that gradually became more available, or in preparation for a possible future end of the isolation policies, after which it might become possible to have conversations or even do business with foreigners.

Few copies found their way to the Netherlands. The rules regarding removing items from Japan were very strict, and at any rate most Dutchmen volunteered for. The introduction to Bangosen is quite specific as to kana usage:. Assimilated sounds10 are written with a small tsu, as follows:. Words in combinations are separated by a large circle. Nevertheless, there are numerous inconsistencies in the work with regard to kana.

While some inconsistencies may not have confused students, other infelicities range from confusing to unhelpful. For example, the double consonant in. Yet, dommekracht. Thus, the katakana-only notation for the Dutch words made it difficult for Morishima.

In addition, inconsistencies in the representation of Dutch vowel combinations suggest that Morishima had an imperfect understanding of their pronunciation. It is important to understand that while Morishima had access to Dutch books, he had little direct contact with Dutch native speakers.

Much of what he understood to be correct pronunciation had been conveyed to him orally via interpreters or fellow rangaku scholars.

One way in which the Edo rangakusha made efforts to develop linguistic and cultural knowledge was through regular gatherings of like-minded scholars, where they practiced conversations and kept Dutch traditions. In the absence of native or expert speakers of the language at such occasions. Thus, many of the.

Such shortcomings would have rendered Bangosen all but useless for anyone. It is nevertheless a work of considerably greater sophistication and accuracy than its predecessors and the work achieved considerable. Copies can still be found in various collections all over Japan and even in Europe.

It spawned two follow-ups. In common with certain early Chinese dictionaries, Bangosen presents its entries in semantic categories.

This is not unexpected. The Japanese writing system is based on Chinese characters, which began to be used in a meaningful way in.

Japan during the sixth century AD. Since Chinese characters are not simply phonetic representations like the alphabet , and cannot easily be used for non-Chinese languages, initially all writing in Japan was done in Chinese. Gradually adaptations such as katakana and hiragana were introduced that enabled the Japanese to write in their own language, but Chinese formatting traditions continued to be used, and in some cases survive to the present day. The semantic categories in Bangosen are as follows: 1.

This briefest of categories presents the names of the seasons, months and days of the week, as well as various times of day. Here we find the words which describe humans in terms of age, gender and.

Thus, entries such as man, woman, son-inlaw, niece and concubine can be found here, but also poverty and wealth, as well as a list of positions in society ranging from emperor to prostitute. Several Dutch words in this category are unidentifiable. Fifty years later, when. Mitsukuri Genpo compiled his improved version of this work, he appears to have. It has been suggested that there may have been political reasons for this, since the appearance of Western religious terms and names might have been seen as prohibited Christian propaganda.

Of interest here is the word garderie. This section includes not only items of clothing, but also jewellery, several kinds of cloth, and a selection of colours. This is a relatively short list of foodstuffs, alcoholic beverages, ingredients,. In other cases, some. Looking over this rather extensive category, one can envisage the compiler listing literally what he saw around him. Of particular interest here are the more advanced. Thus we find here donker kamer lit.

Under the entry brandsteenkracht an obsolete Dutch word for electricity , we find the. This list is surprisingly short, given the considerable amount of trade between the Dutch and the Japanese during the Edo period.

This is likely the first recorded use of this word, which is. This section also includes not-so-precious materials such as coral, chalk, sulphur and fossilised shells. Entries in this category include indigenous and exotic birds. All animals listed here were already known to the Japanese through contact with the Chinese, and there is no confusion as to which animal is which.

Besides fish, many other aquatic creatures are included here. In spite of the. Since there are certain visual similarities between some of the original species and those they became in translation, it is possible that Morishima worked from a book with illustrations. This is a large list, which reveals a number of interesting linguistic sources and. A considerable proportion of the Dutch names in this list cannot be.

It is possible that this variant of the Japanese word for carrot, ninjin, had achieved common usage among the Dutchmen in Nagasaki, giving the Japanese the mistaken impression that it was also a Dutch word. Trees from the tropics, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, date, fig, and clove, figure. Although the list features a variety of fruit trees, the apple does not make an appearance. This very short list features numbers and measurements. Many are paired with their antonyms, such. Although adjectives. Although personal pronouns were not widely used in premodern Japanese, they are scattered throughout this category, and are represented in Japanese by terms.

Japanese particles with case. The category closes with eleven short phrases for everyday communication, such as:. Several of the phrases relate to the buying of goods, and their Japanese versions are colloquial. Their likely source is a Nagasaki interpreter. This appendix contains representations in both Chinese characters and.

He was engaged by the government as an interpreter for international negotiations, and his translation of a. In the Foreword he explains that it had been necessary to revise Bangosen because Western studies had become more sophisticated since its publication, and also to correct errors, particularly in the section for geographical names.

Many of the Japanese entries have been corrected or updated. It also presents three versions of the Roman alphabet as well as 72 syllables shown both in katakana and in Roman alphabet.

Most significant, however, is the appearance. Western had gained considerably more profile, both in official circles and among. The growing awareness among the authorities of the need. The final category, language, is so enlarged that it occupies almost an entire second. Mitsukuri adds no extra entries of significance in this category, but does make.

This section is virtually identical to that in Bangosen. Of interest is the entry. It is the first indication in this work of the influence of the Dutch grammatical books that were. Although he has rearranged the listings of a large number of entries, Mitsukuri has not changed or added many words in this category. Gods and Buddhas. As noted above, this category is omitted here. Mitsukuri only adds a small number of entries, and makes a few minor adjustments in this category.

Instead, we find such fine distinctions as red, white, and Rhine wine. Other additions here include cheese and cream, white and brown sugar, beuring for.

Also lacquerwork, porcelain and tea were bought and exported to Batavia or Europe. Contrary to what one might conclude, Deshima was a popular posting among VOC employees.

One reason for this was that the Japanese Government, beside the official trade, gave permission for limited personal trading as well, a privilege which provided employees with additional income sometimes reaching levels of more than 20 times their normal annual salary. The "opperhoofd", whose salary was guilders a year, was recorded as making as much as For political reasons, both in Japan and Europe, profits and trade on Deshima deteriorated in the 18th century.

The Japanese authorities set out new regulations on such affairs as the numbers of ships permitted and the exchange rate between silver and gold - initiatives that restricted profits for the trading Dutch.

This was the era of the French Revolution and the loss of the once mighty Dutch command of the seas. Opperhoofd Hendrik Doeff became dependent on the kindness of the Japanese for food and clothing. But Doeff did not waste his time. He continued his writing of a Dutch-Japanese dictionary and invested special efforts in maintaining good relations with the Japanese authorities. Doeff kept the Dutch flag flying in Deshima: the only one left in the world.

In the 16th century the "lingua franca" of trading with the Japanese had been Portuguese, and first contacts between the Dutch and the Japanese were conducted through a Portuguese interpreter. After the Portuguese were expelled, the Dutch language gradually took over and the role of translator and interpreter became critically important. Positions were hereditary, with Japanese interpreters for the Dutch becoming known as "Oranda Tsuji".

Rarely exceeding in number they were in charge of the administration of trade, diplomacy and cultural exchanges.

As the competence of the interpreters improved, so it became clear to the Japanese ruling class that the westerners had exceptional, and valuable, knowledge in many fields. In , the eighth Shogun, Yoshimune, lifted the ban on western books, except for Christian religious literature, and shortly after scientific books began to be imported into Japan.

Study through the Dutch language was called "Rangaku", or Dutch Learning, and scholars such as Sugita Genpaku achieved remarkable results. The "Ontleedkundige Tafelen" , a thorough work on anatomy by the German Kulmus, was translated in as the "Kaitai Shinsho". These two books became the basic study materials of many Rangaku schools in Japan. Beside medical science the subjects of astronomy, mathematics, botany, physics and chemistry, geography and military science were actively studied.

Providing the Japanese with information on western sciences proved an important task for the VOC and resulted in many academics being sent to Japan. Cock Blomhoff collected Japanese artifacts and household goods. The most famous "Dutch" intellectual export was generally considered to be Philip Franz von Siebold. The German Von Siebold was sent to Japan in with the mission to acquire as much information about Japan, the people and their culture as possible.

Through his thorough knowledge of botany, medical sciences and pharmacy, he became the most revered VOC employee of his time in service of the Japanese and Dutch alike. He was given land near Nagasaki, where he founded the school Narutaki Juku. Here he treated patients, taught medical science and biology, and kept a botanical garden.

Through his many contacts with scholars, patients and authorities, he was able to collect vast numbers of artifacts of Japanese life. Among goods received in exchange for his teaching services, was a kimono with the circular family crest of the Tokugawa Shogun family, and "secret" maps of Japan, normally strictly forbidden to foreigners. He was found out, and banned for life under suspicion of being a spy.

Many of his Japanese friends and students had to pay for this acquaintance with their lives. His eviction became known as the "Siebold Incident".

He left his wife and daughter Oine, who eventually became Japan's first female medical doctor. His vast collection of artifacts is now at the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden. Contacts between the Dutch and Japanese authorities also took place during the annual 'court journey'. On this annual epic journey that could take up to three months, the Opperhoofd was usually accompanied by the VOC surgeon and some employees together with the Oranda-Tsuji and civil servants of the Nagasaki authorities - a total of some to persons.

A poignant reminder of this journey is the grave of Opperhoofd Gijsbrecht Hemmij in the small city of Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture, dated , which was restored with funding from the City of Kakegawa and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in The visit to the Shogun mandated many special and expensive gifts. Telescopes, medical instruments, medicines, canons, globes, exotic animals such as zebras, camels and monkeys were all examples of gifts presented to the Shogun and other high ranking officials.

Scientific books were especially popular. In a beautiful copper "grand chandelier" with wax candles was presented to alleviate diplomatic tensions. It can still be seen in the Tosho-gu shrine in Nikko, the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

In return the Dutch normally received expensive silk kimonos. The presence of the Dutch in Deshima and their passing by while traveling the Edo Sanpu also had a perceptible effect on Japanese artists. Life on Deshima was the theme of many Nagasaki-e , or Nagasaki prints, bought as souvenirs by Japanese tourists visiting Nagasaki. Dutch figures were also painted on porcelain.

Paintings and books brought from Holland inspired many local artists. Shiba Kokan painted Dutch landscapes he had never seen himself, perhaps the reason for the presence of mountains in some of his paintings. Kawahara Keiga was the personal assistant to Von Siebold and his paintings give a detailed description of life on Deshima at the beginning of the 19th century. During the 19th century the world's political situation gradually changed.

Holland had lost its supremacy of the seas, and the power of America and England was rising. During the opium war England forced China to open five ports for international trade and to cede Hong Kong.

Von Siebold, who after his eviction from Japan had been living and doing research in Holland, advised Dutch King Willem II to inform the Shogun of the war's outcome and to advise him to voluntarily open up Japan to foreign countries.

Willem II wrote a "Royal Letter", which was handed over after a parade and ceremony in to the Nagasaki authorities. Though the Japanese government rejected the advice it was grateful for the friendly gesture. The Dutch government warned the Shogun once more through Donker Curtius, who was appointed "Opperhoofd" of Deshima especially for this purpose.

In he informed the Shogun that the Americans had plans to open up Japanese ports by force. The arrival of Commander Perry with his fleet in led to the opening up and modernisation of Japan. In 50 years the country changed from a feudal society to a modern western democracy. The exclusive role of the Dutch ended, though close contacts between the two countries continued. In the beginning the Dutch language continued to be used in official contacts with foreign countries, so the first contacts between the Americans and the Japanese had to be conducted in Dutch.

The Japanese quickly understood the changing power balance in the world and in order to catch up with the west, the Japanese government dispatched scholars to America and Europe.

Western specialists were invited to Japan to assist in modernising the country. Assistance from the Netherlands was offered in shipbuilding and military science, medicine and pharmacy, and civil engineering. Soon after the arrival of Commodore Perry, the Shogunate requested Donker Curtius to deliver steamships. The maritime school of Nagasaki was established for the handling and the maintenance of the ship and armaments. Commander Fabius of the Dutch navy and his crew, who sailed the ship to Japan, were the first teachers, and Katsu Kaishu one of their students.

After evaluating the achievements of the "Kanko Maru", the Japanese government ordered a second ship. Aboard the "Japan" were first engineer Hardes and medical doctor Pompe van Meerdervoort. Hardes became the founder of the first ship repair yard and steam engineering factory, out of which world class shipbuilders Mitsubishi would be born. Pompe van Meerdervoort followed in the footsteps of Von Siebold and established the first modern western hospital in Nagasaki.

He in his turn was soon afterwards followed by A. Bauduin, C. Mansvelt, K. Dutch studies would soon spread out to other regions. It should be noted that in reflection of the way learning was done as the family's business in the Edo period, as with Confucianism and other studies, Dutch studies was also often a family pursuit that was passed down from generation to generation.

Representative examples of this are the Sugita family, Katsuragawa family and Udagawa family. Dutch dictionaries were also compiled. Well known among these are Haruma wage by Inamura Sanpaku, H. Doeff's Zufu haruma and its revised version Oranda jii. All these dictionaries were based on F. Halma's Dutch-French dictionary. Books on grammar were imported and many introductory texts were compiled.

During the 19th century, many Russian and British ships sailed close to Japan, and in the northern part of the country there was a clash between Russians and Japanese officials. This incident increased interest in Russia, overseas geography, and military studies, so Dutch studies became an even more practical endeavor.

As advocated by Takahashi Kageyasu, in the Shogunate government established the Bansho Wage Goyo as the official translation organization in which Baba Sajuro, Otsuki Gentaku, Aochi Rinso and others served, and among other works translated N. Chomel's Algemeen Text of Kosei shinpen written in the hand of translator Udagawa Yoan Kosei shinpen.

The National Diet Library houses approximately 3, books that previously belonged to the Bureau for the Inspection of Barbarian Books , Kaiseijo, and other Shogunate organizations, and most of these are Dutch books. They are mainly materials transferred from the Tokyo Kaisei School predecessor of the University of Tokyo to the Tokyo Shojakukan Tokyo Library , but the times had already shifted to the studies via English and German, and these Dutch books soon fell into disuse and were forgotten.

They were discovered after World War II in the warehouse of the Ueno Library currently the International Library of Children's Literature , and were recognized as valuable materials on how Dutch learning was acquired during the Edo period and sent shockwaves through the academic community.

In addition to the books purchased by the Bureau for the Inspection of Barbarian Books and by Kaiseijo, there were also books that had been handed down by the Tenmonkata Astronomy Bureau and Momijiyama Bunko Library. The Dutch books that previously belonged to the Edo Shogunate government went with the Tokugawa Clan when it was relocated to Sunpu now Shizuoka City , and some of these form the Aoi Collection Japanese of the Shizuoka Prefectural Central Library and are also in the possession of such facilities as the Tokyo National Museum.

The arrival of P. As mentioned above, he was sent to Japan with the commission to study Japan and its circumstances, but at the same time he contributed to raising the level of Dutch studies by instructing many Japanese. However, in when he was returning home, many prohibited items were found among his possessions, which caused the von Siebold Incident.

Then in , the Bansha no Goku Affair occurred. The Shogunate government dignitaries who disliked having their foreign policy and other administration intervened by intellectuals and others suppressed these intellectuals such as Watanabe Kazan et al. At this time, however, Western knowledge through Dutch studies and goods from the Netherlands began to make their way to the general public to whom they became familiar.

Many Dutch books came to Japan during the Edo period, and there were many Dutch books that received particular attention by Dutch studies scholars in addition to R. Dodoens' Cruydt-Boeck , J. Jonston's Naeukeurige beschryving van de natuur der viervoetige dieren and N. Chomel's Algemeene For example, to scholars of Dutch studies, 'zeogarahi' does not refer to the general word 'geography', but to the Algemeene geographie written by the German J.

This Dutch translation of his Allgemeine Geographie was prized by interpreters and Dutch studies scholars as a source of information on world geography, and many translations and reference works were made from it.