| *[[Kangaku]]: The shogunate was not only concerned about Western books, but also Chinese books coming in through Nagasaki, which might have Christian elements. The shogunate's censorship project began with the establishment of a temple in Nagasaki, and the conscription of two Nagasaki book dealers into the shogunate's service. In 1639, Mukai Genshô, a Saga han Confucian scholar & physician, was appointed chief censor. He was followed by at least seven generations of successors. Book dealers were obliged to issue a pledge of their loyalty to uphold the polity (kôgi), etc., and to report any suspicious printed/written matter - including discussions of Christianity or military matters - which appeared at Edo, Osaka, Kyoto, Sakai, or anywhere else. A list of banned books was also circulated, and a number of prominent intellectuals are known to have possessed copies of the list, indicating their interest in what was censored. (Jansen, China in the Tokugawa World, 72-73) | | *[[Kangaku]]: The shogunate was not only concerned about Western books, but also Chinese books coming in through Nagasaki, which might have Christian elements. The shogunate's censorship project began with the establishment of a temple in Nagasaki, and the conscription of two Nagasaki book dealers into the shogunate's service. In 1639, Mukai Genshô, a Saga han Confucian scholar & physician, was appointed chief censor. He was followed by at least seven generations of successors. Book dealers were obliged to issue a pledge of their loyalty to uphold the polity (kôgi), etc., and to report any suspicious printed/written matter - including discussions of Christianity or military matters - which appeared at Edo, Osaka, Kyoto, Sakai, or anywhere else. A list of banned books was also circulated, and a number of prominent intellectuals are known to have possessed copies of the list, indicating their interest in what was censored. (Jansen, China in the Tokugawa World, 72-73) |