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Watercolour of Buckingham House's East Library
The Libraries of George III

George III was a keen bibliophile

ENGELBERT KAEMPFER (1651–1716)

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 ... : together with a description of the Kingdom of Siam ; v. 2 / E. Kaempfer.

1727

47.0 x 39.0 x 4.5 cm (book measurement (conservation)) | RCIN 1074486

Engelbert Kaempfer was a German physician who served with the Dutch East India Company (VOC) between 1690 and 1692. During this period, Japan was closed to most foreign merchants, with only a small enclave in Nagasaki harbour open to Dutch and Chinese vessels. Kaempfer visited Edo (modern Tokyo) and was able to learn much about Japanese history, culture, customs, medicine and botany. He wrote these descriptions down and made several detailed illustrations, but he died before the work was published.

Following his death, Kaempfer’s manuscripts were purchased by Sir Hans Sloane, whose librarian translated them into English. This two-volume work was published in 1727 and served as one of the principal accounts of Japan and Japanese life until well into the nineteenth century. As well as being the first such account in English, the work is notable for its extensive descriptions of Japanese plant life and its maps, one of which provides the earliest European depiction of a plan of Edo.


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