Background
Otsuki Bansui was born in Sendai, 1757.
Otsuki Bansui was born in Sendai, 1757.
He was initiated into Dutch medicine in Edo by Gempaku Sugita and Ryotaku Maeno. Afterward he went to Nagasaki where he learned Dutch under an interpreter. Returned to Edo and wrote Rangaku Kaitei in two volumes, which was the first systematic Dutch grammar written by a Japanese.
Gempalm Sugita, his teacher, wanted to revise his book on anatomy but unable to do so, asked Bansui to accomplish the task. Bansui consulted Dutch books and engaged in actual anatomical experiments and revised and enlarged Gempaku's book. The revised version was a large book in 13 volumes. Bansui wrote other books and had many disciples.