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Rangaku ( 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 isolation ( Sakoku ). Through Rangaku, Japan learned many aspects of the Scientific And Technological Revolution occurring in Europe at that time, helping the country build up the beginnings of a theoretical and technological scientific base, which helps to explain Japan's success in its radical and speedy modernization following the opening of the country to foreign trade in 1854 . HISTORY . Tokyo National Museum .]] The Dutch traders at Dejima in Nagasaki were the only European foreigners tolerated in Japan after 1640, and their movements were carefully watched and strictly controlled, being limited initially to one yearly trip to give their homage to the Shogun in Edo. They became instrumental, however, in transmitting to Japan some knowledge of the Industrial and Scientific Revolution that was occurring in the West: The Japanese purchased and translated numerous scientific books from the Dutch, obtained from them Western curiosities and manufactures (such as clocks), and received demonstrations of various Western innovations (such as the demonstrations of electric phenomena, and the flight of a hot air balloon in the early 19th century). In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Dutch were arguably the most economically wealthy and scientifically advanced of all European nations, which put them in a privileged position to transfer Western knowledge to Japan. Altogether thousands such books were published, printed, and widely circulated among the population, where the literacy rate was between 70 and 80%. Japan already had at that time one of the largest urban populations in the world, with more than one million inhabitants in Edo, and many other large cities such as Osaka and Kyoto, offering a large, literate market to such novelties. In the large cities, some shops open to the general public specialized in foreign curiosities. Beginnings (1640-1720) practicing astronomy at Dejima .]] The first phase of Rangaku was quite limited and highly controlled. Western books were strictly prohibited since the full Repression Of Christianity in Japan in 1640. Initially, a small group of Hereditary Japanese-Dutch translators labored in Nagasaki to smooth communication with the foreigners and transmit bits of Western novelties. Also, the Dutch were requested to give updates of world events and to supply novelties to the Shogun every year on their trips to Edo. Finally, the Dutch factories in Nagasaki, in addition to their official trade work in silk and deer hides, were allowed to engage in some level of "private trade." A small, lucrative market for Western curiosities thus developed, focused on the Nagasaki area. In the ensuing period, numerous Rangaku scholars actually emerged from the ranks of the Nagasaki translator guilds. Liberalization of Western knowledge (1720-) book "Sayings of the Dutch" (紅毛雑話).]] Although foreign books were strictly forbidden from 1640 , rules were relaxed under Shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune in 1720 , which started an influx of foreign books and their translations into Japan. One example is the publication by Morishima Chūryō in 1787 of a book titled "Sayings of the Dutch" (紅毛雑話, lit. "Sayings of the Red Hair"), which records numerous pieces of knowledge received from the Dutch. The book details a vast array of topics, including objects such as Microscope s and Hot Air Balloon s; discusses Western hospitals and the state of knowledge of illness and disease; outlines techniques for painting and printing with copper plates; describes the make up of static-electricity generators and large ships; and relates updated geographical knowledge. Between 1804 and 1829, schools were opened throughout the country by the Bakufu (幕府, Bakufu was the Japanese military government ruling Japan at the time with the Shogun as its leader) and temples (寺子屋), which helped to spread the new ideas further. By that time, Dutch emissaries and scientists were also allowed much more free access to Japanese society. The German physician attached to the Dutch delegation Von Siebold established numerous exchanges with Japanese students. He invited Japanese scientists to show them the marvels of Western science, learning in return through them much about the Japanese and their customs. In 1824 von Siebold began a medical school with fifty students, appointed by the Shogun . They helped with the botanical and naturalistic studies of von Siebold. His school, the Narutaki-juku (鳴滝塾), grew into a meeting place for about fifty Rangakusha. Expansion and politicization (1839-) , a Japanese-made perpetual clock-watch, or Wadokei , 1851 , developed through Rangaku and local technique. Tokyo National Science Museum .]] The Rangaku movement became increasingly involved in the political question of opening Japan to further foreign influence. Most of those within the movement strongly advocated further absorbing Western knowledge and liberalizing foreign trade in order to modernize and strengthen the nation. Rangaku became increasingly sophisticated by that time, disseminating recent Western innovations in most areas of knowledge. In 1839 , scholars of Western studies (called "rangakusha") briefly suffered repression by the Edo Shogunate in the Bansha No Goku (蛮者の獄, literally "indictment of the society for barbarian studies") incident, due to their opposition to the introduction of the death penalty against foreigners (other than Dutch) coming ashore, recently enacted by the Bakufu. The incident was provoked by actions such as the Morrison Incident , in which an unarmed American merchant ship was fired upon under the Edict To Repel Foreign Ships . The edict was eventually repealed in 1842 . Rangaku ultimately became obsolete when Japan opened up in the Bakumatsu period, 1853 – 1867 . Students were sent abroad, and foreign employees ( O-yatoi Gaikokujin ) came to Japan to teach and advise in large numbers, leading to an unprecedented and rapid modernization of the country. It is often argued that Rangaku kept Japan from being completely uninformed about the critical phase of Western scientific advancement during the 18th and 19th century, allowing Japan to build up the beginnings of a theoretical and technological scientific base. This openness could partly explain Japan's success in its radical and speedy modernization following the opening of the country to foreign trade in 1854 . TYPES OF RANGAKU Medical sciences , an example of "Rangaku." Tokyo National Science Museum .]] From around 1720, numerous books on medical sciences were obtained from the Dutch, and then analyzed and translated into Japanese. Great debates occurred between the proponents of traditional Chinese medicine and those of the new Western learning, leading to waves of experiments and Dissection s. The accuracy of Western learning made a sensation among the population, and new publications such as "Anatomy" (蔵志, 1759) and the "New Treatise on Anatomy" (解体新書, 1774) became references. The "New Treatise on Anatomy" was a compilation made by several Japanese scholars, led by Sugita Genpaku , from the Dutch book "Ontleedekundige Tafelen" (1734), itself a translation of "Anatomische Tabellen" (1732) by the German author Johann Adam Kulmus . In , Wells and Morton , with the introduction of Diethyl Ether (1846) and Chloroform (1847) as general anaesthetics. In 1838, Dr. Koan Ogata established the Rangaku school named Tekijuku (適塾). Famous alumni of the Tekijuku include Fukuzawa Yukichi and Otori Keisuke , who would become key players in Japan's modernization. He was the author of "Byogakutsūron" (病学通論), which was the first book on Pathology to be published in Japan in 1849. Physical sciences Some of the first scholars of Rangaku were involved with the assimilation of 17th century theories in physical sciences. This is the case of ), 引力 (pull), 遠心力 ( Centrifugal Force ), 集点 ( Center Of Mass ). A second Rangaku scholar, Hoashi Banri (帆足万里, 1778-1852), published in 1810 a manual of physical sciences (Japanese title: 窮理通) based on a combination of thirteen Dutch books, after learning Dutch from just one Dutch-Japanese dictionary. Electrical phenomena (1776), called Elekiter , developed through Rangaku. Tokyo National Science Museum .]] . The sign at the entrance says "Newest curiosities from foreign countries."]] .]] Electrical experiments were widely popular from around 1770. Following the invention of the Leyden Jar in 1745 , similar Electrostatic Generator s were first obtained from the Dutch around 1770 by Hiraga Gennai . Static Electricity was produced through the friction of a glass tube with a gold-plated stick were used to create various electrical effects. The jars were reproduced and adapted by the Japanese, who called it Elekiter . Just as in Europe, these generators were used as curiosities, such as making sparks fly from the head of a subject, or for supposed medical advantages. In his book "Sayings of the Dutch," Hiraoka explains the Elekiter as "A machine that allows to take sparks out of the human body, in order to treat sick parts." Elekiters were sold widely to the public in curiosity shops. Many electric machines derived from the Elekiter were then invented, particularly by Sakuma Shozan . Japan's first electricity manual, "Principles of the Elekiter Mastered by the Dutch" ("阿蘭陀始制エレキテル究理原", by Hashimoto Muneyoshi ), published in 1811 , describes numerous electrical phenomena, such as experiments with electric generators, conductivity through the human body, or the 1750 experiments of Benjamin Franklin with Lightning . Chemistry battery in Utagawa's "Science of Chemistry" (舎密開宗, Semikaisō), published in 1840. The title reads "Decomposition of an Alkali with a Volta column."]] In 1840 , Utagawa Yoan published his "Science of Chemistry" (舎密開宗, Seimikaisō), a compilation of various scientific books in Dutch, which describes a wide range of scientific knowledge from the West. Most of the Dutch original material appears to be derived from William Henry 's 1799 "Elements of Experimental Chemistry." In particular, the book contains a detailed description of the Electric Battery invented by Volta forty years earlier in 1800 . The battery itself was constructed by Utagawa in 1831 and used in various experiments, including medical ones, based on a belief that electricity could help cure illnesses. Utagawa's "Science of Chemistry" also reports for the first time in details the findings and theories of Lavoisier in Japan. Accordingly, Utagawa also made numerous scientific experiments and created new scientific terms from Ideogram s, which are still in current use in modern scientific Japanese ( Oxidation /酸化, Reduction /還元, Saturation /飽和 or Substance /元素). Optical sciences Telescopes , 1831 .]] .]] Japan's first Telescope was offered by the English captain John Saris to Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1614 , with the intermission of William Adams , during Saris's mission to open trade between England and Japan. This followed by only six years the invention of the telescope by Dutchman Hans Lippershey in 1608 . Refracting Telescope s were widely used by the populace during the Edo period, both for pleasure and for the observation of the stars. After 1640, the Dutch continued to inform the Japanese about the evolution of telescope technology. In 1831 , after having spent several months in Edo where he could get accustomed with Dutch ware, Kunitomo Ikkansai (国友一貫斎), a former gun manufacturer, built Japan's first Reflective Telescope , of the Gregorian type, a European innovation made in 1670 . Kunitomo's telescope had a Magnification of 60, and allowed him to make very detailed studies of Sun Spot s and lunar topography. Four of them remain to this day. Microscopes Microscopes were invented in Europe during the 17th century, but it is unclear when exactly they reached Japan. Clear descriptions of microscopes are made in the 1720 "Night Stories of Nagasaki" (長崎夜話草) and in the 1787 book "Saying of the Dutch". Although Europeans mainly used microscopes to observe small cellular organisms, the Japanese mainly used them for Entomological purposes, creating numerous detailed descriptions of Insect s. Magic lanterns , from Tengutsu (天狗通, 影絵眼鏡), 1779.]] Magic Lantern s, first described in the West by Athanasius Kircher in 1671 , became very popular attractions in multiple forms in 18th century Japan. The mechanism of a magic lantern, called "Glasses for Shadow Images" (影絵眼鏡) was described using technical drawings in the book titled Tengutsu (天狗通) in 1779 . Mechanical sciences Automata See Also: Karakuri ", with its mechanism, 19th century.]] Karakuri are mechanized Puppet s or Automata from Japan from the 18th Century to 19th Century . The word 'Karakuri' means a "mechanical device to Tease , Trick , or take a person by surprise". Japan adapted and transformed the Western Automaton s, which were fascinating Descartes ' world, giving him the incentive for his Mechanist Theories of Organism s, as well as Frederick The Great , who loved playing with automatons and Miniature Wargames . Many were developed, mainly for entertainment, ranging from tea-serving to arrow-shooting mechanisms. These ingenious mechanical toys were to become prototypes for the engines of the industrial revolution. They were powered by spring mechanisms similar to those of clocks. Clocks Japanese clock.]] See Also: Wadokei Mechanical clocks were introduced into Japan by Jesuit Missionaries or Dutch merchants in the sixteenth century. These clocks were of the Lantern Clock design, typically made of Brass or Iron , and used the relatively primitive Verge And Foliot Escapement . These led to the development of an original Japanese clocks, called Wadokei . Neither the Pendulum nor the Balance Spring were in use among European clocks of the period, and as such they were not included among the technologies available to the Japanese clockmakers at the start of the Isolationist Period in Japanese History , which began in 1641 . Later Japanese clock makers introduced more sophisticated clock technology through the Dutch, leading to spectacular developments such as the Universal Myriad Year Clock designed in 1850 by Hisashige Tanaka , the founder of what would become the Toshiba corporation. Pumps Air pump mechanisms became popular in Europe from around 1660 following the experiments of Boyle . In Japan, the first description of a Vacuum Pump appear in Aoji Rinso 's 1825 "Study of the atmosphere" (気海観瀾), and slightly later both pressure pumps and void pumps in Utagawa Genshin 's 1834 "Admirable things from the Far West" (遠西医方名物考補遺). These mechanism were used to demonstrate the necessity of air for animal and life combustion, typically by putting a lamp or a small pump in a void pump, and were also used to make calculations of pressure and air density. developed by Kunitomo , circa 1820-1830.]] Many practical applications were found as well, as in the manufacture of Air Gun s by Kunitomo Ikkansai , after he repaired and analysed the mechanism of some Dutch air guns which had been offered to the Shogun in Edo. A rather vast industry of perpetual Oil Lamp s (無尽灯) also developed, also derived by Kunitomo from the mechanism of air guns, in which oil was continuously supplied through a compressed air mechanism."Edo Technology", p25 Kunitomo also developed agricultural applications of these technologies, such as a giant pump powered by an Ox , to lift irrigation water. |
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