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This is the history of Dutch influence on Japan during the so-called 'closed centuries' between 1640 and 1853. Dutch maritime traders provided the only commercial link which Japan maintained with the west, and were thus the sole channel for western ideas and knowledge to reach neo-Confucian society. Professor Goodman explains the circumstances of the Dutch themselves in Japan during the seventeenth century, and the historical and intellectual milieu within which 'Dutch studies' were nurtured. He traces the initial interest of the Shogun government in European astronomy and medicine, and the gradual development of interest in wider spheres of western knowledge and culture.
List of contents
Preface I Introduction II The Dutch at Hirado III The island of Deshima IV Visits to Edo V The Nagasaki interpreters and early medical and astronomical studies VI Arai Hakuseki and intellectual developments in Genroku and Shotoku VII Tokugawa Yoshimune and Western learning VIII Aoki Kon’yo and Noro Genjo IX The kohoka, Maeno Ryotaku and Sugita Gempaku X The advent of heliocentricity XI Otsuki Gentaku and the spread of Rangaku XII Western learning in various domains XIII Western learning in private schools XIV Rangaku and Tokugawa intellectual ferment XV Conclusion
About the author
Grant K. Goodman
Summary
The text looks at the Dutch influence on Japan during the country's so-called 'closed centuries' when Dutch traders provided the only commerical link between Japan and the West.
