Mitsukuri Genpo - Mitsukuri Genpo

Japanese: 箕作阮甫 - みつくり・げんぽ

Year of death: Bunkyu 3.6.17 (1863.8.1)
Year of birth: September 7, 1799 (October 5, 1799)
A Dutch scholar in the late Edo period. His given name was Kenju, his pen name was Kyosei, and his nickname was Ruanpo, and he was also known by the names Murasakisen and Otani. He was born as the second son of Sadakata, a physician in the Tsuyama Domain (Tsuyama City) in Mimasaka Province. He succeeded to the family business at the age of 12, studied traditional Chinese medicine under Yoshimasu Bunsuke in Kyoto, and became a physician for the domain in 1822. He went to Edo the following year to study Dutch medicine under Udagawa Genshin, and opened a clinic in Hatchobori, Edo, in 1834. However, due to a fire and poor health, he gave up the clinic and devoted himself to translation. After translating and publishing "Iryo Seishi" and "Konyu Shomon" under the name of Ito Genpaku, he edited, translated and published "Taisei Mei Iiko," said to be the first medical journal in Japan. He has many unpublished works, including "Kagaku Hisdoku." In 1857, when 45 Western physicians planned to establish a vaccination center (Otamagaike Vaccination Center), he was the leading donor. In 1839, he succeeded Koseki San'ei, who committed suicide at the Bansha no Goku Incident, and was ordered to serve the Edo Shogunate's Astronomical Office as the person in charge of the reconciliation of foreign documents, translating diplomatic documents. He traveled to Shimoda and Nagasaki for negotiations with Russia, and also worked as a translator when receiving Commodore Perry. In 1855, he retired, but participated in the founding of the Shogunate's Bansho Shirabesho, and was appointed head professor when it was founded in 1856, solidifying the foundations of the institute. In 1862, he became a Shogunate official. After entering the Shogunate's service, he translated many books other than medical texts, and devoted himself to studying overseas situations. Although Hakko Tsushi, which aimed to be a 19th century new world magazine, ended with only the European section, it spread fresh information. His translations of Western history, such as "Kyokusei Shikage," have also attracted attention, but his official translations, such as "Complete Book of Maritime Gunnery," which he translated with Sugita Ryukei and others at the behest of the shogunate, the official edition of "Gyokuseki Shirin," which was compiled and translated by the Bansho Shirabesho, which was a systematic compilation of Dutch magazine articles, and "Setsusen Setsuraku," which was requested by Shimazu Nariakira, are also important. Nguyenpo re-integrated Dutch studies based on knowledge up until the 18th century with information from the 19th century, and established the Bansho Shirabesho as a practical official academic institution. He was a central figure in this transitional period, and also an advocate of opening up the country. He can be said to be the greatest technocrat scholar of his time. He was buried at Jodo-ji Temple in Hakusan, Edo, and was later reburied in Tama Cemetery (Fuchu City). The date of his death, as reported to the shogunate, was November 7, 1863. <References> Research on Mitsukuri Nguyenpo, compiled by the Dutch Studies Materials Research Society

(Hiroshi Ishiyama)

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

Japanese:

没年：文久3.6.17(1863.8.1)
生年：寛政11.9.7(1799.10.5)
幕末の蘭学者。名は虔儒,字は痒西,阮甫は通称,紫川,逢谷などと号す。美作国津山藩(津山市)藩医貞固の次男として生まれる。12歳で家督を継ぎ,京都で吉益文輔に漢方医学を学び,文政5(1822)年藩医となる。翌年出府し,宇田川玄真について蘭学を修め,天保5(1834)年江戸八丁堀に医院を開いた。しかし火災に遭い,病弱もあって医院は断念,翻訳に専心した。伊東玄朴名義で『医療正始』『坤輿初問』などを訳述刊行後,わが国医学雑誌の最初といわれる『泰西名医彙講』を編訳刊行した。『外科必読』はじめ未刊のものが多い。安政4(1857)年洋医45人が種痘館(お玉ケ池種痘所)設立を企画した際,拠出者の筆頭となった。天保10(1839)年蛮社の獄で自殺した小関三英の後任として,江戸幕府天文方蕃書和解御用を命ぜられ,外交文書の翻訳に当たる。対露交渉に下田や長崎へ出張,ペリー応接にも翻訳官として活躍した。安政2(1855)年隠居したが,幕府の蕃書調所創設に参画,同3年創立とともに教授職筆頭に任命され,同所の基礎を固めた。文久2(1862)年幕臣に列した。幕府出仕後は医書以外の訳述が多く,海外情勢研究に力を注いだ。19世紀の新世界誌を目指した『八紘通誌』はヨーロッパ編のみで終わったが,新鮮な情報を広めた。『極西史影』などの西洋史訳書も注目されるが,幕閣の命で杉田立卿らと訳した『海上砲術全書』,蕃書調所で組織的にオランダの雑誌記事を編訳した官版『玉石志林』,島津斉彬の依頼による『水蒸船説略』など公務上の訳業が重要である。阮甫は18世紀までの知識による蘭学を19世紀の情報で改めて集大成し,蕃書調所を官学として実践的に確立した。この過渡期の中心人物であり,しかも開国論者だったという。当時の最優秀テクノクラート学者といえよう。江戸白山の浄土寺に葬られ,のち多磨墓地(府中市)に改葬された。幕府への届出没日は文久3年11月7日。<参考文献>蘭学資料研究会編『箕作阮甫の研究』

(石山洋)

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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