Thunberg, Carl Peter

Japanese: ツンベリー - Ｔｈｕｎｂｅｒｇ，ＣａｒｌＰｅｔｅｒ

Year of death: 1828.8.8 (1828.8.8)
Born: November 11, 1743
A botanist who came to Japan in the mid-Edo period. Also known as Thunberg or Thunberg. Born in Jöntjeping in southern Sweden. Received a doctorate in medicine from Uppsala University. Recognized by botanist Linnaeus, he studied in France. Encouraged by dignitaries he met in the Netherlands, he decided to study plants in the Cape of Good Hope region and in Japan. He arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1772 and collected plants. After passing through Java, he landed at Dejima in Nagasaki on August 14, 1775 (An'ei 4), joined the Dutch trading post, and the following year accompanied the chief of the trading post on his visit to Edo. At the time, Westerners were restricted from traveling outside of Dejima, so the visit was a great opportunity to collect Japanese plants. It was just after the publication of Kaitai Shinsho, and in Edo, Katsuragawa Hoshu and Nakagawa Junan visited Thunberg's lodgings at Nagasakiya almost daily, and exchanged knowledge with Thunberg. During his 16-month stay in Japan he collected as many plant specimens as possible, and after returning to Japan he wrote "Flora of Japan" (1784). This book records 735 species of seed plants and 33 species of cryptogamous plants, and he is the one who gave the most scientific names to Japanese plants. His warm heart can also be seen in "Journey to Japan", which details the customs and manners of Japan. He left Japan in November 1777 and returned to Japan via the Cape of Good Hope and Britain. He succeeded Linnaeus and his son as a professor at Uppsala University, and his fame surpassed that of his teacher Linnaeus. <Works> "Flora of the Cape of Good Hope" <References> "Thunberg's Journey to Japan" translated by Yamada Tamaki, "The Establishment of the Natural History of Japan" by Kimura Yojiro

(Yojiro Kimura)

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

Japanese:

没年：1828.8.8(1828.8.8)
生年：1743.11.11
江戸中期に来日した植物学者。ツンベルグ,トゥーンベリとも。スウェーデン南部イェンチェーピンク生まれ。ウプサラ大で医学の博士号を受ける。植物学者リンネに認められフランスに留学。オランダで会った諸名士の勧めで喜望峰地帯と日本の植物研究を志す。1772年喜望峰に着き植物を採集。ジャワを経て安永4(1775)年8月14日長崎の出島に上陸,オランダ商館に入り,翌年商館長の江戸参府に随行。当時の西欧人は出島以外での行動が規制されていたため,参府の旅は日本の植物採集の絶好の機会となった。『解体新書』出版直後のころでもあり,江戸では桂川甫周,中川淳庵が毎日のように宿舎・長崎屋を訪れ,ツンベリーと知識交流をはかった。 16カ月の滞日中に可能な限りの植物標本を集め,帰国後に『日本植物誌』(1784)を著す。同書は種子植物735種,隠花植物33種を記し,日本の植物の学名の最も多くを彼が命名している。また風俗習慣を詳しく記した『日本紀行』からは,彼の温かい心を知ることができる。安永5年11月離日,喜望峰,英国を経て帰国した。リンネ父子のあとを継いでウプサラ大教授となり,名声は師のリンネをしのいだ。<著作>『喜望峰植物誌』<参考文献>山田珠樹訳『ツンベルグ日本紀行』,木村陽二郎『日本自然誌の成立』

(木村陽二郎)

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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