Description

Published in 1666 in the early part of the Edo period, Kinmo zui (Enlightening illustrations) is the first illustrated encyclopedia produced in Japan. The compiler, Nakamura Tekisai (1629‒1702), was born into a merchant family in Kyoto. He became a self-taught Neo-Confucian scholar, but he was also acquainted with a wide range of subjects beyond Neo-Confucianism. He led a reclusive life devoted to the ideal of kakubutsu kyuri (the investigation of things and penetration of principle). Tekisai and Ito Jinsai (1627‒1705) were considered the preeminent scholars of their generation ...