Philipp Franz von Siebold

Japanese: シーボルト - Ｓｉｅｂｏｌｄ，ＰｈｉｌｉｐｐＦｒａｎｚｖｏｎ

Year of death: 1866.10.18(1866.10.18)
Born: February 17, 1796
A German physician and biologist who came to Japan in the late Edo period. Born to a physician's family in Würzburg, Bavaria, he studied medicine, botany, zoology, geography, and other subjects at the University of Würzburg, earning his doctor's degree in 1820. In 1822, he became a medical officer for the Dutch East India Company, and was posted to Java in 1823. He was soon commissioned in Japan, and arrived at Dejima, Nagasaki, in August 1823. He initially provided medical treatment and lectures within the trading post, and then at private schools in the city run by Yoshio Koji. The following year, he was given permission by the Nagasaki magistrate to build a school in Narutaki on the outskirts. The Narutaki school was equipped with student accommodation, a medical room, and even a medicinal herb garden, and Siebold visited the school once a week. He not only provided practical medical treatment and clinical lectures on medicine, but also lectured on a variety of academic subjects, nurturing talented Dutch scholars such as Koseki San'ei, Takano Cho'ei, Ito Genpaku, Mima Jun'zo, and Ninomiya Keisaku. In 1826, he accompanied the chief of the Dutch trading post on a visit to Edo, staying in Edo for over a month. During that time, he became acquainted with Edo scholars of Dutch studies, including Takahashi Kageyasu, Otsuki Gentaku, and Udagawa Yoan. It was there that the seeds of what is known as the "Siebold Incident" began to sprout. When Siebold returned to Nagasaki and became acquainted with Takahashi and Mamiya Rinzo, Mamiya became suspicious of Siebold. When Siebold's ship was returned to Japan in a storm after completing its term in 1828, its luggage was searched and a violation of the national ban was discovered. It was discovered that Takahashi had given Siebold a copy of Ino Tadataka's "Survey of the Coastal Lands of Japan" in exchange for Siebold's "Voyage Circumnavigating the World" and a map of Dutch Asia, and that Siebold had also tried to take out other items such as a hollyhock crested uniform. Takahashi died in prison during the trial, and Siebold was banished from the country, leaving Japan in December 1827. After returning to Europe, Siebold published a succession of books related to Japan, becoming an important authority on Japanese studies in Europe. He also urged the King of the Netherlands to draft a personal letter urging the shogunate to open the country. This letter was presented to the shogunate in 1844, but the shogunate rejected it. He then drafted a private proposal for treaties to be concluded with European countries when Japan opened up, and presented it to the Dutch government. This proposal was entrusted to Curtius in 1852, and reached the shogunate. After the country opened up, Curtius requested that the shogunate lift Siebold's exile, which was realized with the conclusion of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between Japan and the Netherlands in 1858, and in the same year, Siebold's long-cherished wish to return to Japan was fulfilled. However, in 1862, before the Meiji Restoration was established, he left Japan and died in Munich. His eldest son Alexander, who accompanied him on his second visit to Japan, remained in Japan and served as an interpreter at the British Embassy, and from 1870 he was employed by the government as an adviser on foreign policy, while his second son Heinrich also came to Japan in 1879 and stayed there for many years as a diplomat. Furthermore, during his time in Nagasaki, he had a son, Kusumoto Ine, who was born to a Japanese woman, Kusumoto Kiou (Otaki), and later became known as an obstetrician. Siebold's academic achievements as a physician were highly praised for the great blessings he left for the Japanese people in clinical practice and for training many Dutch physicians, but what is even more important is the scenery of Japan that he introduced to Europe. The most important work is the so-called "Japan" or "Nihonshi," a collection of descriptions of Japan and its surrounding areas (Ezo, the Southern Kuril Islands, Sakhalin, Korea, and Ryukyu), which was published in Leiden from 1832 to 1854. It is a vast and comprehensive research book on Japan. Other than these, "Japanese Animals" (1833-50) and "Japanese Flora" (1835-70) are academically valuable works. <References> Go Shuzo, "The Life and Achievements of Professor Siebold" (Toyo Bunko), Itazawa Takeo, "Siebold"

(Yoichiro Murakami)

Siebold

Year of death: 1911.1.23(1911.1.23)
Born: August 16, 1846
A foreign employee of the Meiji period. German. Born in Leiden, the Netherlands, as the eldest son of Philipp Franz von Siebold. In 1859, he was brought to Japan by his father. He learned Japanese and worked at the British Embassy in Japan from 1862 to 1870. During that time, he accompanied Tokugawa Akitake and his party to the Paris World Exposition in 1866, and kept the British Foreign Office informed of their movements. In 1860, he was employed by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and traveled to London with Ueno Kagenori, special commissioner, to negotiate the conversion of foreign debt. In 1861, he was assigned to the Translation Bureau of the Dajokan Seiin, and accompanied Sano Tsunetami, vice president of the Vienna World Exposition. In 1865, he was employed by the Ministry of Finance. In 1876, he was transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and accompanied Matsukata Masayoshi, vice president of the Paris World Exposition, and was attached to the German embassy after the Exposition. He was called to Tokyo to serve as an interpreter for the Treaty Revision Pre-Conference in 1815 and the Treaty Revision Conference in 1819 and 1820. Immediately after the conference was indefinitely postponed, he received internal orders to visit various European countries in order to work toward a mutual understanding, and thereafter spent the rest of his life in Europe, reporting newspaper editorials to the Ministry. During this time, he accompanied Aoki Shuzo, the envoy extraordinary and plenipotentiary, on a business trip to London in 1894 to negotiate the revision of the Anglo-Japanese Treaty. He also worked to manipulate public opinion during the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War. In 1910, he was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1st Class. <Works> "Ph.Fr.von Siebold's Letzte Reise nach Japan,1859-1862"

(Yasuko Hirose)

Siebold

Year of death: 1908.8.11 (1908.8.11)
Born: July 21, 1852
A diplomat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire during the late Edo and Meiji periods. Born in Boppard on the Rhine as the second son of medical doctor Philip. Influenced by his father, he developed an interest in Oriental culture and history. When his older brother Alexander, an interpreter at the British Embassy in Japan, returned to Japan temporarily, he learned Japanese from his brother's secretary, and left for Japan with him in 1869. In January 1872 (Meiji 5), he became a temporary interpreter trainee at the Japanese representative office, and in October he became a liaison officer for the Japan World's Fair Committee at the Vienna World's Fair. In January of the following year, he went to Vienna with exhibits for the fair, and in March of the same year he was promoted to honorary interpreter, returning to Japan the following June. In February 1883, he became a secretary at the consulate, and later served as charging ambassador, acting consul in Yokohama, first secretary at the cabinet, and acting consul general in Shanghai, before leaving Japan on July 10, 1896. He wrote "Memorandum on Japanese Archaeology" (1879) and "Studies on the Ainu People" (1881).

(Takashi Utsumi)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：1866.10.18(1866.10.18)
生年：1796.2.17
江戸後期に来日したドイツ人の医師,生物学者。バイエルンのビュルツブルクの医師の家に生まれる。ビュルツブルク大学で医学,植物学,動物学,地理学などを学び,1820年学位を得る。1822年,オランダ領東インド会社付の医官となり,1823年にジャワに赴任,まもなく日本に任官することになり,文政6(1823)年8月に長崎出島に入った。はじめ商館の内部で,やがては市内の吉雄幸載の私塾などでも,診療と講義を行っていたが,翌年長崎奉行から許されて,郊外の鳴滝に学舎を造った。学生の宿舎や診療室,さらには薬草園まで備えたこの鳴滝塾に,週1回出張したシーボルトは,実地の診療や医学上の臨床講義のみならず,様々な分野の学問の講義を行い,小関三英,高野長英,伊東玄朴,美馬順三,二宮敬作らの蘭学の逸材を育てた。文政9年オランダ商館長の江戸参府に随行して1カ月余り江戸に滞在。その間,高橋景保,大槻玄沢,宇田川榕庵ら,江戸の蘭学者とも親しくなった。そこにいわゆる「シーボルト事件」の種子が芽生える。長崎へ帰ったシーボルトと高橋や間宮林蔵らとの交際のなかで,間宮が疑惑を持ったのをきっかけに,同11年に任期が満ちて帰国するシーボルトの乗った船が嵐によって戻された際に,荷物が調べられて,国禁違反が発覚。高橋がシーボルトの『フォン・クルーゼンシュテルン世界周航記』とオランダ領のアジア地図などと引き換えに,伊能忠敬の『日本沿海測量図』のコピーなどをシーボルトに渡していたこと,そのほかにも葵の紋服などをシーボルトが持ち出そうとしていたことが明らかになって,高橋は裁判の途中に獄中で死亡,シーボルトも国外追放となり,同12年12月に日本を去った。ヨーロッパに戻ったシーボルトは,日本関係の書物を次々に発表して,日本学の権威としてヨーロッパで重要視されるようになった。またオランダ国王を動かして幕府に開国を勧める親書を起草し,この親書は弘化1(1844)年に幕府に伝えられたが,幕府はこれを拒否,さらに,日本が開国した際にヨーロッパ諸国と結ぶべき条約の私案を起草してオランダ政府に伝え,この条約案は嘉永5(1852)年にクルティウスに託されて幕府の手に届いている。開国後,クルティウスはシーボルトに対する追放の解除を幕府に要請,安政5(1858)年日蘭修好条約の締結とともに実現,同6年シーボルトは念願の再来日を果たした。しかし文久2(1862)年に維新の成立をみぬまま日本を去り,ミュンヘンで亡くなった。再来日に際して帯同していた長男のアレクサンダーは,そのまま日本に留まり,イギリス公使館通訳,明治3(1870)年以降は政府のお雇いとして,外交政策などの相談役となり,次男のハインリヒも同2年に来日,外交官として長年日本に滞在した。さらに長崎時代に日本の女性楠本其扇(お滝)との間に生まれた楠本イネは,のちに産科医として知られるようになった。シーボルトの学問的業績は,医師として臨床面で日本の人々に大きな福音を残し,さらに多くの蘭医を育てたことは,高く評価されなければならないが,それにもまして重要なのは,ヨーロッパに彼によって紹介された日本の風物である。最も重要なのは,通称『日本』もしくは『日本誌』すなわち『日本とその周辺諸地域(蝦夷,南千島,樺太,朝鮮,琉球)についての記述集成』としてライデンで1832年から54年までかかって刊行されたもので,日本についての浩翰で巨大な総合的研究書である。このほか『日本動物誌』(1833～50),『日本植物誌』(1835～70)は学問的に貴重な業績である。<参考文献>呉秀三『シーボルト先生其生涯及功業』(東洋文庫),板沢武雄『シーボルト』

(村上陽一郎)

シーボルト

没年：1911.1.23(1911.1.23)
生年：1846.8.16
明治期のお雇い外国人。ドイツ人。フィリップ・フランツ・フォン・シーボルトの長男としてオランダ・ライデンに生まれる。安政6(1859)年父に連れられて来日。日本語を習い,文久2(1862)年から明治3(1870)年まで在日イギリス公使館勤務。その間1866年パリ万国博覧会参加の徳川昭武一行に付いて訪欧,一行の動静をイギリス外務省へ逐一内報した。3年民部省雇となり,外債切り替え交渉のため特例弁務使上野景範に従ってロンドンへ出張。6年太政官正院翻訳局に配属され,ウィーン万国博覧会副総裁佐野常民に随行。8年大蔵省雇。11年外務省雇に転じ,パリ万国博覧会副総裁松方正義に随行,万博後在独公使館付となる。15年条約改正予議会,19,20年条約改正会議で東京へ呼ばれ,通訳官を務める。会議無期延期直後,了解工作のため内命を受けてヨーロッパ各国を歴訪,以後は終生ヨーロッパにあって新聞論調の本省への報告などに従事した。この間1894年日英条約改正交渉のため特命全権公使青木周蔵に付いてロンドンへ出張。また日清戦争,日露戦争の際は世論工作にも従事した。1910年勲1等瑞宝章受章。<著作>《Ph.Fr.von Siebold’s Letzte Reise nach Japan,1859～1862》

(廣瀬靖子)

シーボルト

没年：1908.8.11(1908.8.11)
生年：1852.7.21
幕末明治期のオーストリア=ハンガリー帝国の外交官。ライン河畔ボッパルトに医学者フィリップの次男として生まれる。父の影響で東洋の文化と歴史に関心を抱く。駐日イギリス公使館通訳官の兄アレキサンダーが一時帰国した際,その秘書に日本語を学び,1869年兄と一緒に日本に発つ。明治5(1872)年1月日本代表部の臨時通訳練習生,10月ウィーン万国博覧会の日本万博委員会の連絡係となった。翌6年1月,博覧会への陳列品と共にウィーンに行き,同年3月名誉通訳官に昇任,翌年6月再来日した。明治16年2月領事館官房書記官,その後代理公使,横浜代理領事,1等官房書記官,上海総領事代理などを歴任し,同29年7月10日離日した。『日本考古学覚書』(1879),『アイヌ民族研究』(1881)を書く。

(内海孝)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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