Sugita Genpaku



Sugita Genpaku (杉田 玄白 20 October 1733 - 1 June 1817) was a Japanese scholar who was known for his translation of Kaitai Shinsho (New Book of Anatomy).

Besides Kaitai Shinsho, he also authored Rangaku Kotohajime (Beginning of Dutch Studies).

Sugita assembled a team of Japanese translators and doctors to translate a Dutch book of anatomy: Kulmus' "Ontleedkundige Tafelen". He did so because he found out, after an autopsy, that the western drawings of human organs were much more accurate than the ones in his Chinese handbooks. If the drawings were better, the text must be very interesting too, so they tried very hard to understand every single word and to make a Japanese translation. At a rate of one page a week/month, this work was finished and published in 1774. As an example of how difficult this work was, the collaborators had to study and discuss several days before they were able to find out that the Dutch "neus" (nose), being a bulb on the front meant the Japanese hana (鼻).