User:Emmachancellor/Sugita Genpaku

Sugita Genpaku was a Japanese physician and scholar known for his translation of Kaitai Shinsho (New Book of Anatomy) and the introduction of Western medicine to Japan.

In 1771 Sugita and Maeno Ryotaku, a Japanese scholar studying the Dutch language,   translated a  Dutch book of anatomy, "Ontleedkundige Tafelen," originally published in German by physician and professor Johann Adam Kulmus in 1734. He did so because he found out, after observing the dissection of a human corpse, that the western drawings of human organs were much more accurate than the ones in his Chinese handbooks. They tried to make a Japanese translation. At a rate of one page a week/month, the work was published in 1774. As an example of how difficult this work was, the collaborators had to study and discuss for several days before they realised that "neus" (nose) in Dutch, being a bulb on the front, meant hana (鼻) in Japanese.

Notable works
Although Genpaku is most well known for his translation of Ontleekundige Tafelen, he published many other works including medical, political, and historical works


 * Yoka Taisei (A Handbook of Surgery)
 * Teriakaho-San (concerning Theriac)
 * Yojo-Schichi-Fuka (Seven Articles About Hygiene)
 * Kei-ei Yawa(Conversations with the shadows of men. A work on medical politics and ethics)
 * Rangaku Koto-hajime (a history of the development of Rangaku)
 * Oranda Iti Mondo (Dialogues on Dutch Medicine), 1795