著者

田村 省三

出版者

国立歴史民俗博物館

雑誌

国立歴史民俗博物館研究報告 (ISSN:02867400)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.116, pp.209-234, 2004-02

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本稿は、日本の近代化の先駆けであり、薩摩藩の近代科学技術の導入とその実践の場であった「集成館事業」の背景としての視点から、薩摩藩の蘭学受容の実際とその変遷について考察したものである。薩摩藩の蘭学は、近世における博物学への関心と島津重豪の蘭学趣味から出発し、オランダ通詞の招聘や蘭方医の採用をとおして、しだいに領内に普及していった。そして、蘭学が重用され急速に普及していったのは島津斉彬の時代であり、藩が強力に推進した「集成館事業」の周辺に顕著であった。しかし、藩士たちの蘭学の修得については、中央から遠く離れた地域性や経済的な困難もあって、江戸や大阪への遊学は他の地域に比べて少なかった。むしろ、中央の優秀な蘭学者を藩士に採用したり、蘭学者たちとの人脈を活用するという傾向が強かったと思われる。ただし長崎への遊学は、例外であった。薩摩藩の蘭学普及は、藩主導で推進されている。したがって地域蘭学の立場からすれば、同時代の諸藩とはその目的、内容と規模、普及の事情に相違がみられる。一方で、蘭学普及の余慶がまったく領内の諸地域には及んでいなかったのかと言えばそうではない。このたび、地域蘭学の存在を肯定することのできる種痘の事例を確認することができた。それは、長崎でモーニッケから種痘の指導を受けた前田杏斎の種痘術が、領内の高岡や種子島の医師たちに伝えられ実施されたという記録によってである。また薩摩藩は薩英戦争の直後、藩の近代化を加速するため、洋学の修得を目的とした「開成所」を設置する。ここでは当初蘭学の学習が重んじられていたが、しだいに英学の重要性が増していった。さらに明治二年、国の独医学採用に伴い、藩が英医ウィリアム・ウィリスを招聘して病院と医学校を設置してから、英国流の医学が急速に普及する。この地域が本格的に西洋医学の恩恵を受けるのは、以降のことである。This paper examines the situation surrounding the acceptance of Rangaku by the Satsuma feudal domain and the changes it underwent from the perspective of the Shuseikan Project, the site of the introduction of modern science and technology by the Satsuma feudal domain, which stood at the vanguard of modernization in Japan.Rangaku in the Satsuma feudal domain was started by an interest in natural history during the Early Modern Period and the interest in Rangaku by Shimazu Shigehide, and gradually spread within the domain through invitations to Dutch translators and the employment of physicians who practiced Western medicine. Rangaku became important and spread rapidly during the time of Shimazu Nariakira when it became prominent in connection with the Shuseikan Project undertaken with great vigor by the domain. However, the acquisition of Rangaku learning by the domain's retainers was less than that of retainers from other regions who went to Edo or Osaka to study, partly because of the distance between the domain and these centers of activity as well as economic difficulties. Instead, outstanding Rangaku scholars from the huge urban centers of Osaka and Edo were employed by retainers who made effective use of the personal connections they formed with these Rangaku scholars. Still, travel to Nagasaki to study there was the exception.The spread of Rangaku within the Satsuma feudal domain was driven by the domain's leadership. Therefore, viewed from the standpoint of regional Rangaku differences can be seen in the objectives, contents, scale and circumstances of its adoption by the Satsuma domain and other feudal domains during the same period. And it is not true that the benefits of this dissemination of Rangaku did not extend to every region within the domain. During the research undertaken for this paper it was possible to confirm examples of vaccinations, which in itself affirms the existence of regional Rangaku. This confirmation is found in records showing that the vaccination techniques of Maeda Kyosai, who received instruction in vaccination by the Dutch doctor Otto Mohnike in Nagasaki, was passed on to physicians working in Takaoka and Tanegashima, who then carried out vaccinations themselves.Immediately after the Satsuma-Anglo War the Satsuma domain established the Kaiseijo academy for the purpose of acquiring Western studies that would accelerate modernization within the domain. At first, Rangaku was given precedence at the academy, but factors such as world trends and relations between the Satsuma domain and Britain after the Satsuma-Anglo War saw British studies steadily gain more and more importance. Then, the invitation issued by Satsuma to the British doctor William Willis in 1869 to establish a hospital and medical school that accompanied the adoption by the Japanese state of German medicine resulted in the rapid adoption of British medicine. It was only after this that the region began to receive the full benefits of Western medicine.