【亞太博物館連線專欄】蘭學與博物館—再現日本江戶時代的文化交流樣貌

蘭學與博物館—再現日本江戶時代的文化交流樣貌

Rangaku and Museums: Rediscovering the Cross Cultural Interaction during Edo Period in Japan

 

作者：越智裕二郎（公益財團法人西宮市大谷記念美術館館長）
　　　蔡玫芳（國立臺灣藝術大學藝術管理與文化政策研究所碩士）
編輯：田偲妤

日本與西方的文化交流如何發展？博物館的概念又如何傳入東方？「蘭學」是一探上述問題的關鍵鑰匙之一，博物館中的史料更成為核心證據。在本篇文章中，我們追溯了蘭學在日本的發展，以及既有的博物館如何再現江戶時代的文化交流樣貌，揭開日本推行明治維新、脫亞論及大東亞主義之前的歷史序幕。

關鍵字：蘭學、洋學、歷史、文化交流、博物館

How did the cross cultural interaction in Japan develop? And how did the concept of museums come to the East? “Rangaku” would be one of essential keys to explore the questions mentioned, and the historical data in museums further proves it being the core of the era. In this article, we’ll trace back the development of Rangaku in Japan, and how the existing museums can present the cross cultural interaction during Edo period, unveiling the part in Japanese history before the implementation of the Meiji Restoration, De-Asianization and the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

Keywords: Rangaku, Edo period, cross cultural interaction, museum

 

蘭學的發展

「蘭學」¹ 一詞起源於江戶時代，意指「荷蘭的學問」，在日本的漢字中又名「蘭」、「阿蘭陀」或「和蘭」，而通曉荷蘭文的譯者，也稱為「阿蘭陀通詞」² ，為日本吸收西方文化知識的重要推手。蘭學的興起與日本對外貿易的興盛有密切關聯。1597年豐臣秀吉逝世，日本對朝鮮（今韓國）的戰爭終止，為國際貿易的進一步發展奠定基礎，外國商品的進口引起日本追求異國事物的風潮。

1600年的春天，第一艘荷蘭貿易船隻抵達日本。不同於葡萄牙和西班牙明顯的傳教意圖，荷蘭主要專注於商業活動，使得德川家康於1609年批准荷蘭在日本的貿易許可。同時，耶穌會信徒的數量日漸增加，再加上各派系之間的衝突，威脅到幕府的統治，使幕府嘗試抑制耶穌會的發展。1637-38年「島原之亂」（The Shimabara Rebellion）³爆發，這是一場因官員苛捐重稅而借宗教之名所起的動亂，最終導致江戶幕府實施鎖國政策，限制日本人與外國人交流，只開放位於長崎的人工島「出島」（Dejima）⁴作為荷日貿易交流港口（圖1）。

 

1571年葡萄牙船隻抵達之後，長崎便在耶穌會的管理之下，作為日本重要的貿易中心，早已培養出一批會說葡萄牙文、拉丁文以及其他語言的通詞。在日本鎖國之後，和蘭通詞也從原先荷蘭人的據點「平戶」移轉至「出島」，繼續協助長崎的行政官員與荷蘭人溝通。

在對外交流的過程中，通詞扮演重要的溝通角色。德川幕府設立了「長崎奉行所」⁵，透過通詞蒐集荷蘭人的資訊、負責「風說書」（fusetsugaki）⁶的編譯，書內統整了荷蘭人提供的海外資料，並上呈給德川將軍。這些資料成為江戶末期日本認識海外的重要資訊（圖2）。

 

「醫學」是蘭學發展中的一項核心學科，而通詞在醫學的發展上扮演重要角色，許多著作皆仰賴通詞的翻譯才得以完成，如：《阿蘭陀經絡筋脈臓腑圖解》（圖3、圖4）。此書是通詞本木庄太夫（Motogi Shodayu），協助荷蘭醫生Willem ten Rhijne（1647-1700）將荷蘭文的醫學書籍翻譯為日文，供前來長崎的醫生學習。

 

除了醫學之外，在日本鎖國期間，由極少數的通詞作為與荷蘭人交流的媒介，引入歐洲的醫學、植物學、天文學、曆法、物理學與化學知識，提供位於江戶（東京）、京都的知識分子汲取相關知識。在德川幕府統治末期，也要求長崎的通詞學習俄文、英文，甚至是法文，拓展對西方學術的認識，甚至派遣外交使節前往美國、歐洲、俄國等地參訪（野澤申平，2016）。

「博物館」概念的引入也是在此時期。1860年，名村五八郎（Gohachiro Namura，1826-1876年）作為隨隊通詞，與日本遣美使節前往美國華盛頓特區，首次見到收藏各式各樣文物的場所，並將此處譯為「博物館」（museum）記錄在其筆記中。「博物館」的譯名，後為日本近代著名教育家福澤諭吉（Yukichi Fukuzawa，1835-1901年）採用，在1866年出版的《西洋事情》中，介紹「博物館」為「收集並展示世界中的物產、古物、珍物，為增廣見聞而設立的場所。」（福澤諭吉，1870）隨著《西洋事情》成為當時最暢銷的書籍，「博物館」這個詞彙與概念逐漸在日本普及，甚至被應用漢字系統的國家沿用至今。

 

展示蘭學

「蘭學」的史料，至今成為日本與西方交流的重要證據，被分散收藏在許多地方，其中也包含博物館：如「神戶市立博物館」、「長崎歴史文化博物館」，以及「津山洋學資料館」。

• 神戶市立博物館

神戶市立博物館設立於1982年，由神戶市立南蠻美術館和神戶市立考古館統合而成，致力於調查、研究、蒐集考古與歴史資料，以及與文化交流有關的南蠻美術⁷、古地圖資料，並展示多元的神戶文化特徴與文化交流樣貌。江戶時代的「蘭學」史料，也被視為文化交流的證據，保存在博物館中。其中包括1774年出版，第一部翻譯自荷蘭文的解剖學書籍《解體新書》，以及天文學相關的史料、圖冊，如：介紹西洋天文、地理知識的文書《限象觀星鏡圖面記錄類》，或是貿易相關的文書。

• 長崎歴史文化博物館

長崎歴史文化博物館的特別之處在於，博物館復原「長崎奉行所立山役所」此處江戶時代的遺跡（長崎縣教育委員會，1998）。在當時，長崎奉行所位於幕府直轄領地內，掌管當地政務的官員，除了負責行政、司法外，更包含外交、貿易等事務，管理荷蘭人的商業聚集地「出島」。因此「長崎奉行所立山役所」的遺跡在博物館中成為觀眾與江戶時代的連結，館方也利用表演審判走私販的景象，帶領觀眾重回江戶時代。

該館自我定位為「海外交流史博物館」，不只展示日本與南蠻、朝鮮、中國交流的文獻資料與美術工藝品，更有「與荷蘭交流」的常設展區，展示通詞、荷蘭商館員如何在出島上進行文物交易、訊息交流等業務。

• 津山洋學資料館

津山洋學資料館不像「神戶市立博物館」和「長崎歴史文化博物館」設立在海港區，此西方文化進入日本的必經之路，而是位於岡山縣北部，距離廣島約200公里的內陸地區。為何在這麼遙遠的津山會有洋學資料館呢？原來在江戶後期，當地藩主會將江戶的蘭學者或醫生收為藩醫。津山地區的藩醫也會隨著藩主前往江戶，替幕府將軍執行任務，吸收江戶新文化的空氣。

由於津山地區出現著名的蘭學世家「宇田川三代」，從宇田川玄隨（1755-1797年）、其養子宇田川玄真（1769-1834年），以及玄真的養子宇田川榕菴（1798-1846年），皆為當時在醫學、解剖學、化學，乃至於其他西洋學術上具有重要影響力的蘭學家。後來的箕作阮甫（1799-1863年）、箕作省吾（1821-1846年）也翻譯許多西洋學術著作、繪製世界地圖。

津山當地更設有藩校，在津山藩積極獎勵蘭學的加持下，明治時代的優秀學者輩出。因此，津山設有資料館，而其名稱也隨著時代變遷及知識來源的擴展，逐漸從蘭學改稱為洋學，故為「洋學資料館」。該館串連津山地區著名的「洋學家」，介紹他們的生命歷史，以及如何拓展洋學的影響範圍。

 

結語：從蘭學到博物館—現代與文明的火花 

「蘭學」在日本鎖國時代，開啟一道日本與西方交流的門徑，而「阿蘭陀通詞」以及之後的許多譯者，在西方學術的引進、詮釋，以及知識傳播上扮演核心角色，不只是協助荷蘭人翻譯外文著作，許多人也成為蘭學家，使西方學術與日本文化展開對話。「博物館」的概念也隨著文化交流的過程而引入日本，在福澤諭吉的書中，成為一種現代化、文明的象徵，介紹給大眾。但是在各個展示蘭學、洋學資料與歷史的博物館中，並不延續「現代化」這個觀點，而是將蘭學與洋學視為文化交流的證據，重視多元文化交流所激盪出的火化。

 

蘭學小百科：

1. 蘭學：荷蘭的學問。德川幕府平定天主教徒起義的「島原之亂」後，驅逐信奉天主教的葡萄牙和西班牙人，唯有信奉基督新教的荷蘭人能與日本通商。與荷蘭人交流所獲得的學問，通稱「蘭學」。

2. 通詞：江戶時代世襲的翻譯官。他們協助行政官員與外國人溝通，蒐集海外資訊，協助翻譯西方學術著作，是引進西方知識的重要推手。

3. 島原之亂：島原藩的官員苛捐重稅、廣徵勞役，民不聊生。民間遂揭竿起義，由天主教徒天草四郎擔任領袖，以宗教號召起義。甚至有消息指稱，起義軍拉攏葡萄牙派兵參與內戰。起義失敗後，德川幕府全面禁教，驅逐葡萄牙與西班牙人，日本進入鎖國時代。

4. 出島：長崎港內的人工島，作為日荷通商口岸。德川幕府實施鎖國政策後，限制日本人與外國人接觸，荷蘭人大部分時間只能於出島進行貿易交流。

5. 奉行所：江戶時代設立的官方機構，負責行政、司法、外交與貿易等事務。位於長崎的奉行所也負責管理出島上的貿易交流事務。

6. 風說書：通詞負責統整的海外資訊，定期上呈德川將軍，是江戶末期日本認識海外的重要文獻。

7. 南蠻美術：日本在中古至近代以前，以「南蠻」稱呼東南亞地區，後延伸指稱葡萄牙和西班牙等殖民國。具備南蠻題材或風格的日本美術作品，通稱「南蠻美術」。

 

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Rangaku and Museums: Rediscovering the Cross Cultural Interaction during Edo Period in Japan

 

Author: Yujiro Ochi (Director, Otani Memorial Art Museum, Nishinomiya City)
        Mei Fang, Tsai (Master, Graduate School of Arts Management and Cultural Policy, NTUA)
Editor: Sz Yu, Tian

 

The Development of Rangaku

The term “Rangaku” ¹ originated from the Edo period, meaning “Dutch learning”. It’s phrased as “Ran”, “Oranda” or “Horan” in kaiji in Japanese. For those translations who understand the language Dutch, they were also called “Oranda translators” ², who served an irreplaceable role in absorbing knowledge from the western world in Japan. The rise of Rangaku has a close connection to the prosperous exportation business in Japan back then. In 1597, Toyotomi Hideyoshi passed away. The war between Japan and Korea was ended, which laid the foundation for the further development of international trade. The import of foreign goods had sparked quite a frenzy in pursuing exotic goods in Japan.

In 1600, the first Dutch ship arrived on Japanese shores. Different from the obvious missionary intentions of Portugal and Spain, the Netherlands mainly focused on commercial activities, which enabled Tokugawa Ieyasu to approve the Dutch trade license in Japan in 1609. As the number of the Jesuits followers kept increasing, and the conflict between different sects, they had posed as a threat to the Shogunate reign, which forced the Shogunate to inhibit the development of the Jesuits. In 1637-38, Shimabara Rebellion ³ broke out. It’s the turmoil in the name of religion because of the heavy taxes imposed by officials, causing the Edo Bakufu to implement the policy of Sakoku (literally means locking up the country). This policy forbade Japanese from interacting with foreigners, and only an artificial island, Dejima ⁴, located within Nagasaki was opened for conducting business between the Dutch and the Japanese (Figure 1).

 

After the Portuguese ships arrived in 1571, Nagasaki was elevated to the imperative commercial center in Japan under the management of the Jesuits. Functioning as an important trading center, a group of translators for Portuguese, Latin and other languages had been groomed long before. After the Sakoku, Dutch translators also moved from Hirado, which was the Dutch base, to Dejima, assisting the communication between the administrative in Nagasaki and the Dutch.

In the process of interaction with the rest of the world, the translators played a crucial role in communication. Tokugawa Bakufu established “Nagasaki magistrate office” (bugyo) ⁵, gathering information of the Dutch through translators. And they were in charge of the translation and editing of “Fusetsugaki” ⁶, which systematically compiled all the information provided by the Dutch about the outside world, and it’d be submitted to General Tokugawa. The information would later on become the important source for Japan to know about the rest of the world (Figure 2).

 

“Medicine” is a core subject in the development of Rangaku, and translators had also held an influential position in the development of medicine. Many books relied heavily on the translators, such as “Dutch Anatomical Charts” (Figure 3, Figure 4), which was translated by Motogi Shodayu. He was helping the Dutch doctor, Willem ten Rhijne (1647-1700), translate the medical books in Dutch into Japanese for the doctors who came to Nagasaki to study.

 

Other than medicine, only a handful of translators acted as the medium to the Dutch during the Sakoku period in Japan. They brought in the knowledge of medicine, botany, astronomy, calendar system, physics, and chemistry from Europe, providing the related knowledge to the intellectuals in Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto. At the end of Tokugawa Bakufu reign, the government asked the translators in Nagasaki to study Russian, English and even French to broaden the knowledge of western learning, and they even dispatched diplomatic envoys to visit the United States, Europe and Russia.

The concept of “museum” had also been introduced during this period. As the envoy translator, Gohachiro Namura (1826-1876) visited the Washington D.C. with Japanese envoys. Seeing the places where various artifacts were stored for the first time, he translated the place as “museum” in his notes. The translation “museum” was adopted by the renowned Japanese contemporary educator, Yukichi Fukuzawa (1835-1901). In “Things Western” that was published in 1866, “museum” was introduced as “a place to collect and exhibit the objects, artifacts and treasures around the world for the purpose of broadens one’s knowledge” (Yukichi Fukuzawa, 1870). As “Things Western” became one of the best-selling books back then, the term “museum” and its concept had gradually prevailed in Japan, and it has also been adopted by countries in Chinese character system to this day.

 

Exhibiting Rangaku

The historical data on “Rangaku” has become a piece of crucial evidence of the communication between Japan and the western world. The data is kept separately at several locations, which also includes museums, such as “Kobe City Museum”, “Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture” and “Tsuyama Archives of Western Learning”. 

• Kobe City Museum

Kobe City Museum was established in 1982, combined by Kobe City Nanman Art Museum and Kobe City Archaeological Museum, and dedicated to researching, studying, collecting archeology and historical information, Naban Art⁷ that concerns cultural interaction, and ancient map data, presenting the versatile culture traits and cultural interaction scene in Kobe. The historical data of “Rangaku” during Edo period is also considered as the evidence of the cultural interaction, which is kept in the museum. Among the collection, the first translation of “Kaitai Shinsho” from Dutch, which was published in 1774, was included. And the collection also includes astronomy related data and atlas, such as “The Note of Stargazing Atlas in Quadrant”, which is a book introducing western astronomy and geographical knowledge, and also papers relating to trading.

• Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture

The uniqueness of Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture is that the museum reconstructed the relics of “Nagasaki Magistrate’s Office” during Edo period at the location (Nagasaki Education Committee, 1998). At that time, Nagasaki Magistrate’s Office was located at a place where was under the direct jurisdiction of the Shogunate. The officials, who were in charge of the local political matters, weren’t only responsible for the administrative and judicial matters, but also handled diplomatic and trading matters, managing the commercial center, Dejima. Therefore, the relic of “Nagasaki Magistrate’s Office” has become the connection between the audience and Edo period in the museum. The museum also organizes the staging of smuggler trial to bring the audience back to the Edo period.

The museum positions itself as “the museum of overseas interaction history”. Its exhibits are simply restricted to the historical data and artistic artifacts of the interaction between Japan and Naban, Korea and China. The museum even establishes the permanent exhibition of “Connecting with the Netherlands”, showing how the translators and employees of Dutch trading post conducted artifacts business and information sharing on Dejima.

• Tsuyama Archives of Western Learning

Unlike “Kobe City Museum” and “Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture” that are located around port areas, Tsuyama Archives of Western Learning, as the inevitable path for western culture to enter Japan, is located at the north of Okayama county, which is an inland area 200 kilometers from Hiroshima. Why would an archives of Western Learning be placed in a place where is as remote as Tsuyama? It turned out that the local han governor would take in the Rabgaku scholars or doctors in Edo as the han doctors. The han doctors in Tsuyama would follow the han governors to Edo to finish tasks for Shogunate generals, and also absorb the air of new cultures in Edo.

There was a prestigious Rangaku scholar family called the Genzuis in Tsuyama area. From Udagawa Genzui (1755-1797), his foster son Udagawa Genshin (1769-1834), and Udagawa’s foster son Udagawa Yoan (1798-1846), these were all deeply influential Rangaku scholars on medicine, anatomy, chemistry, and other western learning. Later on, Mitsukuri Genpo (1799-1863) and Mitsukuri Shogo (1821-1846) both translated various western academic publications and drew world maps.

Han schools were also founded in Tsuyama area, added the fact that Rangaku was greatly encouraged by Tsuyama han, there were plenty brilliant scholars during Meiji period. Therefore, the archive was located in Tsuyama, and the name has also gradually changed from Rangaku to western learning as the time went by and expanded sources of knowledge. Connected with the acclaimed scholars of “western learning” in Tsuyama area, the archive sets out to introduce the lives and history of these scholars, and how they expanded the influence of western learning.

 

Conclusion: From Rangaku to Museums – The Sparks between Modern Times and Civilizations 

During the Sakoku period in Japan, “Rangaku” had opened up a gate for interaction between Japan and the western world. And for “Oranda translators” and many fine fellow translators afterwards, they’d been the essential part in the introduction and interpretation of western learning, and also spreading the knowledge. They didn’t just help the Dutch translate foreign publications; many of them also become Rangaku scholars themselves, urging to start a conversation between western learning and Japanese culture. The concept of “museum” has also been introduced into Japan through the process of cultural interaction, becoming a symbol of modernization and civilization to the general public. However, in the museums that exhibit Rangaku, western learning and history, the concept of “modernization” hasn’t been continued. Instead, Rangaku and western learning have been considered as the evidence of cultural interaction.

 

Notes on Rangaku:

1. Rangaku – Dutch learning. After Tokugawa Bakufu pacified “The Shimabara Rebellion” by the Catholics, he deported the Catholic Portuguese and Spanish, and only the Protestant Dutch could do business with Japan. The knowledge gained via interacting with the Dutch was called “Rangaku” in general.

2. Translator – The hereditary translating official in Edo period. They assisted the administrative to communicate with foreigners, gathering information from overseas and helping to translate the western academic publication. They were the important gateway for bringing in western knowledge.

3. The Shimabara Rebellion – The officials in Shimabara han imposed various taxations and mandatory labor requirements on people, making them tremendously miserable. Therefore, a riot broke out from the commoners. They were led by a Catholic named Amakusa Shirō with the religious calling. There was even a rumor that the riot troop tried to convince Portugal to send armies to join the war. After the riot failed, religions were entirely banned by Tokugawa Bakufu, and the Portuguese and Spanish were also evicted. As the result, Japan thus entered the Sakoku period.

4. Dejima – An artificial island within Nagasaki port, and functions as the designated treaty port between Japan and Netherland. After the isolation policy was enforced by Tokugawa Bakufu, Japanese were forbidden to make contacts with foreigners, and the Dutch could only conduct business on the island of Dejima.

5. Magistrate’s Office – The official institute during Edo period, handling administration, judiciary, diplomacy and trading, etc. The magistrate’s office located in Nagasaki was also in charge of the trading matters on Dejima.

6. Fusetsugaki – Information from overseas gathered by translators, and would be submitted to Tokugawa Bakufu periodically. It’s an important literature for Japan to get to know what happened overseas towards late Edo period.

7. Nanban Art – Before the middle ages to modern times, Japan referred to Southeast Asia as “Nanban” and later referred to colonies, such as Portugal and Spain. A Japanese art work with Nanban theme or style is commonly known as “Nanban Art”.

 

參考文獻：

• 野澤申平（2016）。詳說日本史圖錄。東京都：山川出版社。
• 長崎県教育委員会（1998）。長崎奉行所（立山役所）跡。長崎市：長崎県教育委員会。
• 津山洋学資料館（2018年8月30日）。津山の洋学【官方網站】。
• 神戶市立博物館（2018年8月30日）。神戸市立博物館の理念と目的・基本的性格【官方網站】。
• 神戶市立博物館（2018年8月30日）。組織概要【官方網站】。
• 福澤諭吉（1870）。西洋事情。東京都：慶応義塾出版局。

延伸閱讀：

• National Diet Library, Japan (2009). Japan- Netherlands Exchange in the Edo Period.

 

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