영어속독(200단어)--Rangakusha(蘭學者):Shiba Kokan(司馬 江漢)<2>

Like many other Edo period artists, Kōkan used a great variety of other names at various points in his career, though "Shiba Kōkan", "Suzuki Harushige", and close variations on those appear far more often. Variations include Shiba Shun （司馬峻）and Suzuki Shun, while his other names include A Fugen-dōjin, Kungaku, Rantei, and as a writer Shumparō(春波楼).

 

Kōkan lived in Edo, was a student of rangaku (Dutch studies) in addition to his pursuits as an artist, and interested in astronomy in particular. He wrote and illustrated a book on Copernicus' theories, entitled Kopperu temmon zukai (刻白爾（コッペル）天文図解, Illustrated Explanation of Copernicus' Astronomy). He met Hendrik Caspar Romberg, the Dutch embassy visiting the Shogun at Edo, but visited Nagasaki only once, in 1788.

 

"Shiba Kokan's world map, published in 1792 in two hand-drawn sheets, shows in the surrounding diagrams the Copernicus figures of earth, sun and moon, which his accompanying book explained with more diagrams. Australia is present with an approximatation of shape quite unknown to Nagakubo Sekisui (ja); Brazil again stretches eastward in deformity; Japan is at the far east of a sheet, but this is a modern map. The ever-original Shiba Kokan describes himself in the colophon as introducing copper engraving technologies to Japan. Later impressions added considerably to the surrounding decorations, with small scenes of whaling, of hills and harbours and plant dissection; they are also more fully colored, in homage to Willem Blaeu or popular taste. However, Shiba Kokan's spare, early issue still conveys a sense of innovation."^{[3](249words)}

 

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