FIG. PAGE 63. Hind-Claw of the Simagani 241 64. Gadsame, a crab with the upper shell tapering into a Te or Matee, oblong thin bivalves gaping at both ends, 247 70. Takaragai, or Cowries, 248 71. Sasai, a large Turbinated univalve, 249 72. Characters of the Elements and the Celestial Signs, 272 73. The names of the Deities, Chinese and Japanese Emperors, 333 PUBLISHERS' NOTE The History of Japan, Giving an Account of the Ancient and Present State and Government of that Empire; Of Its Temples, Palaces, Castles, and other Buildings; Of Its Metals, Minerals, Trees, Plants, Animals, Birds and Fishes; Of The Chronology, and Succession of the Emperors, Ecclesiastical and Secular; Of The Original Descent, Religions, Customs, and Manufactures of the Natives; and of their Trade and Commerce with the Dutch and Chinese: Together with a Description of the Kingdom of Siam, Written in High-Dutch by Engelbertus Kaempfer, M.D., Physician to the Dutch Embassy to the Emperors Court; and translated from his Original Manuscript, never before printed, by J. G. Scheuchzer, F.R.S., and a Member of the College of Physicians, London. With the Life of the Author, and an Introduction. Illustrated with many Copper Plates. London: Printed for the Translator. MDCCXXVII,' was originally published in two folio volumes. On the back of the Title Page are printed the words April 27. 1727. Imprimatur, Hans Sloane, Praes. Soc. Reg.' The account of the acquisition of Dr. Kaempfer's Manuscripts and Collection of Curiosities by Sir Hans Sloane is given by the Translator on page xlviii. While the zoological specimens have perished through faulty methods of preservation, many of Dr. Kaempfer's botanical specimens may still be seen in the Natural History Museum, South Kensington. A few copies of the work contained a second Appendix, dated 1828, 'Being Part of an Authentick Journal of a Voyage to Japan, made by the English in the year 1673?' Its chief interest lies in its account of an abortive attempt to revive the English trade with Japan which had ceased since 1623-24. This Appendix has been included in the present reprint. Since its original publication in 1727 The History of Japan' has not hitherto been reprinted in full. The maps and illustrations in the original edition were engraved as folio sheets and bound in at the end of each volume: in this edition they have, for greater convenience, been placed in their proper positions through the text; obvious printers' errors of spelling and punctuation have been corrected, but Kaempfer's spelling of Japanese names has been retained. It should be borne in mind by the reader that the 'Emperor,' to whose Court at Jedo (Tokyo) Dr. Kaempfer journeyed, was the Shogun; the Mikado is referred to throughout the book as the Ecclesiastical Hereditary Emperor,' and held his Court at that time. at Miaco (Kyoto). The publishers desire to express their indebtedness to His Excellency Viscount Hayashi, Japanese Ambassador at the Court of St. James, for his kindness in supplying them with information for the correct delineation of the Imperial Crest of Japan, and to Sir Archibald Geikie, F.R.S., for the biographical note on the family of J. G. Scheuchzer, the translator. GLASGOW, March, 1906. Biographical Note on the Scheuchzer THE Family BY SIR ARCHIBALD GEIKIE HE family to which the Translator of Kaempfer's work belonged was one of some scientific distinction in Switzerland at a time when natural science had comparatively few cultivators. The spelling of the family name does not appear to have been at that time settled. Thus in a manuscript Latin letter on Alpine Plants sent by the Translator's father to the Royal Society of London the word appears as "Sheutzer" at the beginning and "Scheuthzer" at the end. The form "Scheuchzer " was that ultimately adopted by this writer and also by the son, as is shown on the title-page of Kaempfer's book.1 The author of the Latin letter just referred to was a man of note in his day, and he occupies a not inconspicuous niche in the temple of science. His acquirements ranged over nearly the whole circle of the sciences then known. In 1702, at the age of thirty, he was appointed 1 The Translator's name has also been spelt Scheutzer and this is the form in which it appears in the Dictionary of National Biography. But in the Roll of the Royal College of Physicians it is entered as Scheuchzer. to be Professor of Mathematics and town-physician in his native place, Zurich. He had studied at Utrecht, and had become known to Leibnitz, at whose suggestion Peter the Great invited him to settle in St. Petersburg. But being too valuable a citizen to be spared from the Swiss republic, he was soon recalled from the north to become Professor of Physics and to receive a canonry in Zurich. Back once more among his native mountains, he not only discharged the duties of his chair but appears to have thrown himself with enthusiasm into the study of the natural history of Switzerland. So diligent were his investigations that they resulted in the publication of the first compendious work on the great subject which he now unfolded to the contemplation of his fellow countrymen and the world at large. The climate, the rivers, the glaciers, the mountains and valleys, the minerals and rocks, the plants and the animals of the region were all included in his comprehensive survey. No part of Nature seems to have been too vast or too minute for his thoughtful investigation. Constantly busy observing, he was no less assiduous in recording his observations. Chief among his numerous published works, the great Beschreibung der Natur-Historie des Schweizerlandes stands out as one of the notable landmarks in the progress of modern science. One of his favourite occupations consisted in the collection, delineation, and description of fossils which, after first adopting the popular belief that they were mere sports of nature, he ultimately championed as monuments that attested the reality and effects of Noah's Flood. In one of his treatises on this subject, entitled Piscium Querela et Vindicia, he shows his quaint |