Isaac Titsingh - Knowledge (XXG)

545:). His enthusiasm to introduce the European society to Japanese customs and culture was rooted in his overall passion for Japan and everything Japanese. Therefore, he became a prominent figure, transmitter and interpreter in a two-way cultural, learning and knowledge exchange between the Japanese and the Europeans. For example, he imported Dutch books on European knowledge to Japan. In addition, he collected authentic source materials on Japan, which consisted of the first ever European collection on Japan, entailing printed books, manuscripts, prints, maps, city plans and coins. This collection was thus to form the basis of a then unique history of Japan. This Cabinet Titsingh, consisted hence of two-dimensional materials. Isaac Titsingh can as a result be seen as the founder of European Japonology. Within this scope and his ambitions for a friendly exchange of knowledge, he urged the VOC officials to send learned employees, who could speak Japanese to the trading post in Dejima, to better the European-Japanese relations in Dejima, which can be found in his letter of 28 August 1785. 315:"... the expediency of attempting an intercourse with the Japanese subsists in its full force. Tho from the conversations I had at Batavia with a Dutch Gentleman of a very liberal disposition who was several years resident in Japan, Isaac Titsingh, I collected nothing that could induce me to depend on a favorable reception there, I learned nothing to deter me from the trial. The risk would, at least, be personal, as we have hitherto there no trade to lose. And no moment, if any, could be so propitious for opening up a new trade with them , as when, from the present general confusion of affairs of the Dutch East India Company, their connection with the Japanese is greatly on the decline." 627: 580:

was limited he could only edit the translations of the Japanese accounts that were already prepared by himself and others in Dejima during his stay abroad. The majority of his work thus was published posthumously and consisted of only small parts of his broader overall work. Moreover, some parts were altered and modified to a great extent by his editors and publishers. This was due to the fact that after the bankruptcy of Titsingh's son Willem Titsingh sold the collections and manuscripts, which then were spread all over 19th century Europe.

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knowledge; an acknowledgment and consciousness of the brevity of life and wasting this precious time not with featureless activities; and his desire to die in calmness, as a "forgotten citizen of the world". In this light he displayed the values of a European philosopher of the 18th century, who was as well interested in his fellow Japanese scholars. Therefore, he also acknowledged their intellectual competences and sophistication and contributed to an intense exchange of cultural knowledge between Japan and Europe in the 18th century.

135: 367: 763:; a description of the Feasts and Ceremonies observed throughout the year at their Court; and of the Ceremonies customary at Marriages and Funerals: to which are subjoined, observations on the legal suicide of the Japanese, remarks on their poetry, an explanation of their mode of reckoning time, particulars respecting the Dosia powder, the preface of a work by Confoutzee on filial piety, &c. &c. 180: 2182: 255:. He established cordial and amicable relations between the interpreters and Japanese; before his arrival there had been constant fights over trade issues and a deep hostility towards the Japanese interpreter, who seemed in trade issues corrupt to the Dutch traders. During his first audience with Ieharu in Edo from 25 March 1780 until 5 April 1780, he met a lot of Japanese 2162: 199:, the self-imposed isolation of Japan that lasted from 1633 to 1853. Because of religious proselytizing by Europeans during the 16th century, the Tokugawa shogunate introduced a policy in the early 17th century that no European or Japanese could enter or leave the Japanese archipelago on penalty of death. The sole exception to this "closed door" was the VOC " 619: 512:

Isaac Titsingh can be described as being the only philosopher employed by the VOC in its almost two hundred years existence and the most sophisticated of all VOC employees in the trading post history of the VOC in Japan (1600–1853). Due to his extensive private correspondence on religious as well as

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His posthumous work and legacy, especially his collections were to some extent blurred later as he was unable to find Japanese or Chinese translators and scholars in Europe that could help him with the translation of his gathered sources. As his own knowledge of the Sino-Japanese written characters

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During the 18th century there was an improvement of the social position of the Dutch merchants and the treatment of the Dutch vis-à-vis the Japanese, who showed a higher degree of respect and recognition than in the centuries before. Nevertheless, the average opperhoofd was not interested in the

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and thus the trading post in Dejima was cut off from communication with Java during this year. In this year Titsingh stayed in his position as opperhoofd and concerned himself with befriending Japanese scholars, deepening relations with Japanese friends and researching on all scopes of Japanese

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Titsingh was very keen on having his scholarly questions answered and showed an enormous inexhaustible thirst for knowledge. Looking at his private correspondence three mottos of his behaviour and values can be identified: the rejection of money, as it did not satisfy his enormous thirst of

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Géographie universelle; ou description de toutes les parties du monde sur un plan nouveau, d'après les grandes divisions naturelles du globe; précédée de l'histoire de la géographie chez les peuples anciens et modernes, et d'une théorie générale de la géographie mathématique, physique et

347:) to Peking allowed him to see parts of inland China which had never before been accessible to Europeans. His party arrived in Peking in time for New Year's celebrations. By Chinese standards, Titsingh and his delegation were received with uncommon respect and honors in the 222:

In this highly controlled context, the traders became the sole official conduit for trade and for scientific-cultural exchanges between Europe and Japan. The VOC opperhoofd was accorded the status of a tributary of the shogun; Titsingh twice had to pay an obligatory annual

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Lequin, F. (2007). International Research Symposium on Foreign Historical Documents Relating to Japan: Titsingh and Sebold. "Isaac Titsingh's Private Correspondence (1783–1812) as the Reflection of an Enlightened 'Voyageur Philosophique'", 東京大学史料編纂所研究紀要 / 東京大学史料編纂所編, 17,

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Bijzonderheden over Japan: behelzende een verslag van de huwelijks plegtigheden, begrafenissen en feesten der Japanezen, de gedenkschriften der laatste Japansche Keizers en andere merkwaardigheden nepens dat Ryk. Uit het Engelsch, met gekleurde platen naar Japansche

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Titsingh had also translated as one of the first Europeans Japanese verses into Latin verses, which can be found together with an essay on Japanese poetry in his collection work on Japanese customs and culture in Bijzonderheden over Japan/Illustrations of Japan.

816:, tr. par M. Isaac Titsingh avec l'aide de plusieurs interprètes attachés au comptoir hollandais de Nangasaki; ouvrage re., complété et cor. sur l'original japonais-chinois, accompagné de notes et précédé d'un Aperçu d'histoire mythologique du Japon, par M. J. 247:

customs or culture of the Japanese. Titsingh showed an almost incredible interest and distinguished himself as an attentive observer of Japanese civilization for a European of his time when compared to his colleagues in Dejima. Titsingh arrived in

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human topics and his endeavours in the exchanges between the outside world and his own, he can be considered as a true philosopher of the 18th century. Compared to the other VOC employees he was a polyglot, who spoke eight languages (

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on 21 January 1745. His father was a successful and prominent Amsterdam surgeon. He thus possessed the means for Titsingh to be brought up with an "enlightened education" of the 18th century. Titsingh became a member of the Amsterdam

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While at Batavia, he met with George Macartney who was en route to China. Titsingh's comments were important factors in McCartney's decision to abandon a planned expedition to Japan in 1793. Mccartney's report to London explained:

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in 1793, just prior to celebrations of Qianlong's sixty-year reign. In China, Titsingh effectively functioned as ambassador for his country at the same time as he represented the Dutch East India Company as a trade representative.

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customs and culture. He also achieved, due to the absence of Dutch shipping that year, important trade talks and great concessions with the Japanese on a long-debated increase to copper exports from Japan to the Dutch traders.

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Titsingh's library and his collection of art, cultural and scientific material was dispersed; and some entered the collections of the French state. Among the Japanese books brought to Europe by Titsingh was a copy of

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avec la description des fêtes et cérémonies observées aux différentes époques de l'année à la cour de ces princes, et un appendice contenant des détails sur la poésie des Japonais, leur manière de diviser l'année,

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After a short return to Batavia in 1780, Titsingh returned to Nagasaki on 12 August 1781, due to his successes with the Dutch-Japanese trade in Dejima. There were no Dutch shipments from Batavia in 1782 due to the

924:– A Dutch merchant who participated in the last Dutch tributary mission to China under the leadership of Titsingh from 1794 to 1795. Account first published in Dutch in 1797, first English edition in 1798 ( 423:

mistress. He took his son to Europe in 1800 so that he could be recognised as legitimate. When Titsingh moved to Paris, Willem went with him and attended the French Maritime Academy, graduating in 1810.

882:– Titsingh was elected to membership in the Society in 1797. His nomination letter has been posted with other membership records on the Royal Society website. Those signing that nomination letter were: 622:

Titsingh's text attempts to present the Japanese in the context of their own narratives. This title page is from the 1822 English version of the French original which was published two years earlier.

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with whom he later established vivid letter correspondence. He became incredibly prominent within the elite society of Edo and became friends with several current and retired daimyo of the area.

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Interspersed with Interesting Anecdotes, Illustrative of the Manners and Habits of the Principal Nations of the World, with an Historical View of the Extent and Practice of Distillation.

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Titsingh stayed a total of three years and eight months in Japan before finally leaving Nagasaki at the end of November 1784 to return to Batavia, where he arrived on 3 January 1785.

2166: 195:, in Japan from 1779 to 1780, from 1781 to 1783, and again in 1784. The singular importance of the head of the VOC in Japan during this period was enhanced by the Japanese policy of 1790:

Jan Compagnie in Japan, 1600–1850: an essay on the cultural, artistic and scientific influence exercised by the Hollanders in Japan from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries.

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Jan Compagnie in Japan, 1600–1850: an essay on the cultural, artistic and scientific influence exercised by the Hollanders in Japan from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries,

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production in Japan were the earliest to be published in a Western language. His work was more widely disseminated throughout Europe by the beginning of the 19th century.

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January 1745 – 2 February 1812) was a Dutch diplomat, historian, Japanologist, and merchant. During a long career in East Asia, Titsingh was a senior official of the

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Ici repose Isaac Titsingh. Ancien conseiller des Indes hollandaises. Ambassadeur à la Chine et au Japon. Mort à Paris le 2 février 1812, agé de 68 ans."

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Titsingh's published compilation of a preliminary Japanese lexicon was only the early evidence of a project which continued for the rest of his life.

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A Very Unique Collection of Historical Significance: The Kapitan (the Dutch Chief) Collection from the Edo Period – The Dutch Fascination with Japan

1940:À la recherche du Cabinet Titsingh. Its history, contents and dispersal. Catalogue raisonné of the collection of the founder of European Japanology 1819:

A Very Unique Collection of Historical Significance: The Kapitan (the Dutch Chief) Collection from the Edo Period—The Dutch Fascination with Japan.

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Titsingh was appointed Dutch ambassador to the court of the Emperor of China for the celebrations of the sixtieth anniversary of the reign of the

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Catalog of "400th Anniversary Exhibition Regarding Relations between Japan and the Netherlands," a joint-project of the Edo-Tokyo Museum, the

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Ouvrage orné de Planches gravées et coloriées, tiré des Originaux Japonais par M. Titsingh; publié avec des notes et éclaircissemens Par M.

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Titsingh's experiences and scholarly research were the genesis for published articles and books. The Batavian Academy of Arts and Sciences (

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