Boys Gazing at the Stars

The "Boy Gazing at the Stars" statue located in Kunitomo-cho, Nagahama City.

In the late Edo period, there was a man who continued to observe the heavens with a telescope he built himself: Ikkansai Kunitomo.

Originally a gunsmith for the shogunate, Ikkansai built his own telescope as soon as he saw a reflecting telescope in Edo.

The telescope, which he repeatedly improved, reached the world's highest standards at the time. He conducted astronomical observations of the moon, Saturn, sunspots, and more.

Kunitomo Village came to be known as the "birthplace of Japanese astronomy."

The "Boy Gazing at the Stars" statue was erected in front of the site of Ikkansai's residence.

A childlike curiosity and spirit of inquiry. This "boy" must have lived on in Ikkansai's heart.

The statue of Genpaku Sugita in Obama City, Fukui Prefecture. There was also a "boy" in the heart of Genpaku, who lived in the same era.

Jun'an Nakagawa, a doctor from the same domain, visited Genpaku Sugita, a doctor for the Obama Domain of Echizen who was working at an Edo residence.

"I was entrusted with this by a Dutchman."

What he brought with him, as if it were precious, was the "Tafel Anatomia."

Genpaku did not know what was written in it. However, he was astonished by the anatomical drawings. They were completely different from those from China.

He wanted it so badly. He begged the domain officials and finally got them to buy it for him. It was an expensive book, but he couldn't read it.

Around that time, an opportunity arose in Edo to observe the dissection of a criminal who had been executed. He immediately invited Ryotaku Maeno to go with him.

He had the "Tafel Anatomia" in his pocket. To his surprise, Ryotaku Maeno had the same book. It turned out he had bought it in Nagasaki.

Before long, the dissection began. It was exactly the same as the diagrams in the "Tafel Anatomia."

"Have we been trying to cure diseases without knowing the inside of the human body?"

It was then that they decided they absolutely had to translate this "Tafel Anatomia."

Genpaku knew absolutely no Dutch. Ryotaku had the equivalent of what we would call first-year junior high school English proficiency today. There were no dictionaries or reference books. Regardless, they began to read it while debating the meaning.

In the explanation of the nose, the word "furhehemd" appears. I don't understand it. Elsewhere, it says that when sweeping the garden, one "furhehemds" the fallen leaves.

I spent the whole day wondering what it meant. Suddenly, it dawned on me. Could it mean to pile up high? As I checked, I was certain. It was like a joy that reached the heavens.

Reading on in this manner, it took over four years to finally complete the translation of "Kaitai Shinsho" (New Book of Anatomy).

"It was like setting out into the vast ocean in a small boat."

Genpaku, who passed away at the age of 83, spoke of the secret to a long life.

"Do not regret the mistakes of yesterday."

"Do not worry about the rightness of tomorrow."

For everyone, life is nothing but incomplete. Yet, I want to keep chasing the stars forever.