Siebold the Research Manager

Abstract

Imagine the following job description: “Wanted, a person willing to gather and publish detailed information about the geography, natural history, arts and sciences, religions, mythology, folk culture, history, natural resources, trade and public institutions of a country named Nippon. The country extends between latitude 46° and 24° N and is at a rough estimate 370,000 km² (which is about ten times the size of the Netherlands). The country is not accessible to foreigners, with the exception of Chinese and Dutch traders, who are confined to isolated areas in the harbor of Nagasaki, in the country’s south-western part, far from the seat of the government in Edo. Only the captain, the head of the Dutch settlement at Dejima, and two assistants are allowed to make a quadrennial visit to Edo, the so-called court-journey.”

Presented at the Siebold Memorial International Medical Symposium, Huis ten Bosch, 28 September 1996.