AuthorArai Hakuseki1657–1725The Sairan Igen is a five-volume geography compiled in 1713 by the Japanese Confucian philosopher, government official, and poet Arai Hakuseki, who revised it in 1725. It was an early and influential work of world geography in Japan, and it circulated widely there in manuscript form.
Hakuseki drew on the knowledge he gained through conversations with the missionary Giovanni Battista Sidotti, as well as on works of reference such as Matteo Ricci's Kunyu Wanguo Quantu. The books describe the geography, history, customs, and living organisms of the world as it was known in Hakuseki's day.
Themes
Universal geographyKnowledge of the Western worldConversations with SidottiInfluence of Matteo RicciManuscript circulation in Japan
Other works by Arai Hakuseki
Original Filopedia text based on Wikipedia (en) and Wikidata.