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At Kaempfer's death his mostly unpublished manuscripts lished; the extant German version was translated from
were purchased by Sir Hans Sloane via George I's court the English. Besides Japanese history, this book contains
physician Johann Georg Steigerthal and conveyed to Eng- a description of the political, social and physical state of
land. Among them was the "History of Japan", translat- the country in the 17th cent.
ed from the manuscript into English by Sloane's librarian Kaempfer' s writings were a milestone in the exploration
John Gaspar Scheuchzer (1702–1729). The 2 vols. were of Japan. Later travellers to Japan were geared to him,
first published at London in 1727. The original German including Philipp Franz von Siebold. Kaempfer's descrip-
("Heutiges Japan", Today's Japan) had not been pub- tion of ancient Japan, backed by the here displayed Jap-
Byōdō-in: The water mill and tea harvest
Chionin temple, today still of the largest in Kyoto, is located just north of Maruyama Park
and Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto's Higashiyama District.
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EXPOTIME!, issue August/September 2017
