Works of Keisuke Ito, a famous naturalist and herbalist in Edo period

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K01139
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Cultural assets study and museology
• Research Institution: National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Akiyama Shinobu 独立行政法人国立科学博物館, 植物研究部, 研究主幹 (50196515)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 植物 / 植物分類学 / 植物採集 / 標本作成

Outline of Final Research Achievements

About 5000 unmounted herbarium specimens are stored in the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tsukuba. These specimens, of which larger part have been called to be collected by Keisuke Ito, a famous naturalist and herbalist in Edo period. In Japan so-called modern science including natural history was introduced from western countries after Meiji Period started in 1868, and before that no modern science did not diffuse because of the policy of national policy of seclusion except the Netherlands.
However, in this study it becomes clear that some basic research of Japanese floras started in the late Edo period. Keisuke Ito (1803-1901), who was learned botany from P. F. Siebold, published a text book of botany, Taisei-Honzo-Meiso in 1829. In this study it makes clear that Keisuke also made herbarium specimens, which are basic material of botanical research. This indicates that some field of modern sciences practically introduced into Japan before Meiji period, through material base.

Free Research Field

植物分類学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

従来、日本における近代科学は明治期になって欧米から移入されるかたちで出発したとされてきた。江戸時代後期にはオランダから自然科学の学術書が移入され、翻訳なども進んでいたが、それらは実際の行動を伴わない単なる書物からの知識移入に過ぎないと考えられてきた。今回、伊藤圭介自身が実際に植物を採集し、これを標本とし、ある程度分類学的な整理を進めていた事実を示すことができた。このことから少なくとも植物学の一部ではすでに幕末にその研究が緒についていたことが明らかになった。