Translating Medical Knowledge: Japan's First Medical Journal Taisei meii ikō

Abstract

In the nineteenth century, European medical journals promoted a new form of medical writing that sped the transmission of new knowledge to a larger audience than ever before. These early journals reported the experiences, controversies, and conclusions of medical practitioners interested in solving a wide range of practical medical problems. Written in vernacular languages, rather than Latin, the journals published short essays on many topics of contemporary interest. These essays, or articles, were translated and republished in the vernacular languages of neighboring countries, and sent abroad to advise medical practitioners in European colonies and beyond. The medical journal became an effective vehicle of transmission of new medical knowledge to individuals and communities throughout the world. In Japan, western medical texts—books and journals—became increasingly available after 1800 in response to a growing interest in western medical knowledge among Japanese physicians. By the 1830s physician-translators dedicated to promoting western medicine in Japan were producing a great number of western medical texts in Japanese translation. This article assesses Japan's first medical journal, Taisei meii ikō (A Compendium of Articles by Renowned Western Doctors), published between 1836 and 1842. It examines the special role of the journal's editor Mitsukuri Genpo in conceiving and establishing the journal, as well as the contributions of other physicians. We introduce a bibliography of the western medical writings chosen by the journal's editor for translation and publication in Taisei meii ikō in an annotated appendix. We find that Japan's rangaku scholars had a sophisticated understanding of contemporary medical trends and therapies in Europe, and a surprising knowledge of the recently-developed drug therapies and advanced surgical techniques that marked the global transformation of medical and scientific knowledge in the nineteenth century.