Changes

In [[1720]], the shogunate loosened its restrictions on the import of Dutch books, giving a great boost to the nascent field of study.

In [[1720]], the shogunate loosened its restrictions on the import of Dutch books, giving a great boost to the nascent field of study.

[[Tamura Genyu|Tamura Gen'yû]] was among those who pioneered the botany / pharmacology side of ''rangaku''. In [[1757]], he arranged an exhibit of botanical samples in [[Edo]] which was the first exhibit of its kind. His student [[Hiraga Gennai]] arranged a similar exhibit two years later.<ref>John Whitney Hall, ''Tanuma Okitsugu (1719-1788): Forerunner of Modern Japan'', Harvard University Press (1955), 78, 95.</ref>

[[Tamura Chinsui]] (aka Gen'yû)<!--田村藍水, 田村元雄--> was among those who pioneered the botany / pharmacology side of ''rangaku''. In [[1757]], he arranged an exhibit of botanical samples at the [[Yushima Seido|Yushima Seidô]] in [[Edo]]. His student [[Hiraga Gennai]] ran a concurrent symposium on herbal medicines, and both were so successful that they came to be repeated as annual affairs. These are sometimes cited as a notable precursor in the history of Japanese museums.<ref>John Whitney Hall, ''Tanuma Okitsugu (1719-1788): Forerunner of Modern Japan'', Harvard University Press (1955), 78, 95.</ref>

 

A number of ''rangaku'' scholars managed to arrange to witness the dissection of executed criminals, and some published works based on the experience. Seeing that dissected Japanese bodies did not match with descriptions in Chinese texts, many concluded that Chinese and Japanese anatomy must be (or might be) different. But, [[Sugita Genpaku]] and [[Maeno Ryotaku|Maeno Ryôtaku]], after observing a dissection in [[1771]] with copies of the Dutch anatomy book ''Ontleedkundige Tafelen''<ref>A Dutch translation of the German ''Anatomische Tabellen'' by [[Johann Adam Kulm]], or Kulmus.</ref> on hand, decided that all human anatomy was alike, and that the Dutch books were simply more accurate, more correct, than the Chinese ones. Incensed by this discovery, they set to translating the Dutch text. Three years later, in [[1774]], with the help of [[Nakagawa Jun'an]], [[Katsuragawa Hoshu|Katsuragawa Hoshû]], and several others, they completed the translation and publication of ''[[Kaitai shinsho]]'' ("New Book of Anatomy"), the first European anatomy book to be widely published & circulated in Japanese translation.<ref>David Lu, ''Japan: A Documentary History'', ME Sharpe (1997), 263-266.</ref>

A number of ''rangaku'' scholars managed to arrange to witness the dissection of executed criminals, and some published works based on the experience. Seeing that dissected Japanese bodies did not match with descriptions in Chinese texts, many concluded that Chinese and Japanese anatomy must be (or might be) different. But, [[Sugita Genpaku]] and [[Maeno Ryotaku|Maeno Ryôtaku]], after observing a dissection in [[1771]] with copies of the Dutch anatomy book ''Ontleedkundige Tafelen''<ref>A Dutch translation of the German ''Anatomische Tabellen'' by [[Johann Adam Kulm]], or Kulmus.</ref> on hand, decided that all human anatomy was alike, and that the Dutch books were simply more accurate, more correct, than the Chinese ones. Incensed by this discovery, they set to translating the Dutch text. Three years later, in [[1774]], with the help of [[Nakagawa Jun'an]], [[Katsuragawa Hoshu|Katsuragawa Hoshû]], and several others, they completed the translation and publication of ''[[Kaitai shinsho]]'' ("New Book of Anatomy"), the first European anatomy book to be widely published & circulated in Japanese translation.<ref>David Lu, ''Japan: A Documentary History'', ME Sharpe (1997), 263-266.</ref>