“18th Century Swedish account of Japan and the Dutch in Nagasaki” - ”Voyages de C.P. Thunberg au Japon"

“18th Century Swedish account of Japan and the Dutch in Nagasaki”

”Voyages de C.P. Thunberg au Japon, Par le Cap de Bonne-Espérance, les îles de la Sonde, &c. “

“Traduits, rédigés et augmentés de notes considérables sur la Religion, le Gouvernement, le Commerce, l’Industrie et les Langues…”

Published in Paris 1796 by Dandré, Garnery & Obré

4 Volumes: Portrait, lxiv, 417, 1 engraving; viij, 430, 4 engravings; viij, 445, 4 engravings; xij, 462, 19 engravings.

This account describes the voyage of the Swedish botanist Carl Thunberg (1743-1828) to Japan. A celebrated surgeon in the Dutch East India Company and student of Linnaeus, Thunberg spent 15 months in Japan.

The first two volumes describe the voyage to Japan from Europe, by way of South Africa and Asia. The third and fourth volumes describe the Japanese customs, language agriculture and festivals.

The account tells of Thunberg’s visit to the Shogun in Edo in 1776 and describes the government, customs and nature of Japan. He reports on trade with the Dutch on Dejima including how many prostitutes or “Courtesans” were supplied to the Dutch inhabitants of the island.