Oranda ganka shinsho 和蘭眼科新書 [Doctrina de morbis oculorum] 天真樓藏版, 1815

11 plates. 5 volumes. Orig wrappers, large 8vo (26 × 17.5 cm). 天真樓藏版, 文化十二年, 1815.

A Japanese translation and adaptation of Doctrina de morbis oculorum by the Austrian physician Joseph Jacob Ritter von Plenck (1738–1807), one of the earliest systematic treatises on ophthalmology in Europe. Translated and annotated by Sugita Ryūkei (杉田立卿) — the son of Sugita Genpaku (杉田玄白, 1733–1817), the pioneer of Rangaku (Dutch Learning) and translator of Kaitai shinsho.

At the age of nineteen, Ryūkei became Japan’s first practitioner of Western ophthalmology. Encouraged by his father, he translated Plenck’s ophthalmological work and, with anatomical illustrations drawn by the Western-style painter Ishikawa Tairō (石川大浪), published it as Oranda ganka shinsho in 1815.

This Edo-period work represents one of the most important early introductions of Western ophthalmology (Rangaku ganka) to Japan. Closely following Plenck’s original Latin treatise, it outlines the anatomy, pathology, and treatment of eye diseases according to European medical science, while incorporating Japanese commentary and explanatory notes. The work exemplifies the flourishing of Rangaku medicine in late Edo Japan and the growing interest in Western anatomical and surgical knowledge prior to the Meiji Restoration.

Illustrations: Eleven finely executed woodcut plates on seven pages, some partially hand-colored, depicting the anatomy and structure of the eye.

Five volumes complete; appendix volume not present. Covers with minor soiling and rubbing.

Please note: A 10% consumption tax will be added for orders shipped within Japan.