Wakan Sansai Zue

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Wakan Sansai Zue (和漢三才図会, Wakan Sansai Zue^?) is a Japanese encyclopedia published in 1713 in the Edo period. It consists of 105 volumes in 81 books. Its name means "Japanese and Chinese illustration of the three worlds". The three worlds, or sansai (三才, sansai^?), of the title, are heaven, earth, and man. Its compiler was Terashima or Terajima (Terajima Ryōan (寺島良安, Terajima Ryōan^?)), a doctor from Osaka. It describes and illustrates various activities of daily life, such as carpentry and fishing, as well as plants and animals, and constellations. As seen from the title of the book (和 (wa), which means Japan and 漢 (kan), which means China), Terajima's idea was based on a Chinese encyclopedia of the Ming times, namely Sancai Tuhui ("Pictorial..." or "Illustrated Compendium of the Three Powers") by Wang Qi (1607), known in Japan as the Sansai Zue (三才図会, Sansai Zue^?). Reproductions of the Wakan Sansai Zue are still in print in Japan.

[edit] External links

• (Japanese) The images of the book are available in the Digital Library of the National Diet Library, Japan.
• A map sample from the Chinese encyclopedia
• Samples on the human body from the Japanese encyclopedia