Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu (三国通覧図説, An Illustrated Description of Three Countries) by Hayashi Shihei (1738–1793) was published in Japan in 1786. [1] This book represents one of the earliest attempts to define Japan in terms of its outer boundaries. It represented a modern effort to distinguish Japan from the neighboring nations. [2]
The book describes those three surrounding nations: the Joseon Dynasty ( Korea), the Ryukyu Kingdom ( Ryukyu Islands/ Okinawa) and Ezo ( Hokkaido), [3] as well as the yet uninhabited Bonin Islands. [4]
A copy of the Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu was brought to Europe by Isaac Titsingh. In Paris, the text represented the first appearance of Korean han'gŭl in Europe. [4] After Titsingh's death, the printed original and Titsingh's translation were purchased by Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat at the Collège de France, where—through a series of errors on Abel-Rémusat's part—it gave the Bonin Islands their name. [5] After Rémusat's death, Julius Klaproth at the Institut Royal in Paris published his version of Titsingh's work. [5] In 1832, the Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland supported the posthumous abridged publication of Titsingh's French translation. [6] [7]
Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu (三国通覧図説, An Illustrated Description of Three Countries) by Hayashi Shihei (1738–1793) was published in Japan in 1786. [1] This book represents one of the earliest attempts to define Japan in terms of its outer boundaries. It represented a modern effort to distinguish Japan from the neighboring nations. [2]
The book describes those three surrounding nations: the Joseon Dynasty ( Korea), the Ryukyu Kingdom ( Ryukyu Islands/ Okinawa) and Ezo ( Hokkaido), [3] as well as the yet uninhabited Bonin Islands. [4]
A copy of the Sangoku Tsūran Zusetsu was brought to Europe by Isaac Titsingh. In Paris, the text represented the first appearance of Korean han'gŭl in Europe. [4] After Titsingh's death, the printed original and Titsingh's translation were purchased by Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat at the Collège de France, where—through a series of errors on Abel-Rémusat's part—it gave the Bonin Islands their name. [5] After Rémusat's death, Julius Klaproth at the Institut Royal in Paris published his version of Titsingh's work. [5] In 1832, the Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland supported the posthumous abridged publication of Titsingh's French translation. [6] [7]