Bound to Please / Explore Edo Period Animal Ethics with Cat Eyes to Keep Time in Translation, Analysis of Doctor’s Writings
How people think about — and treat — animals varies wildly across time and place, and it can be difficult to grasp how different creatures were viewed by those who lived in countries and eras other than our own.
"Animals in Premodern Japan: The Encyclopaedia of Ando Shoeki (1703-1762)" by Melissa Ann Kaul offers a unique look into how animals were viewed in 18th-century Japan. Written by a doctor named Ando Shoeki, the book is a translation of his animal-related writings, supplemented with analysis and explanations. Shoeki's works aimed to convey classical Chinese zoological knowledge to a new audience, but they also reflected his own cosmological philosophy.
Kaul's book highlights explicit errors in Shoeki's work, clarifies his disagreements with other historical writers, and points out instances where he criticizes those he believes are spreading falsehoods. For example, Shoeki labeled "dragon bone" sellers as frauds in China, as dragons, as described in his writings, were actually quite small creatures.
Despite being based on his reading, Shoeki confidently described lions as having blunt teeth and being as long as all Indian animals. However, he also provided detailed observations of domestic cats in Japan, describing the changing patterns of their pupils through the day as a better clock than those made in Holland. Shoeki seems to have viewed cats as impressive creatures, imagining Holland as a kind of utopian paradise.
The book also discusses various animals Shoeki believed should not be eaten, either due to health concerns or because their existence is too closely tied to human society. He advocated for a vegetarian diet and described religious practices, such as fox veneration, as forms of abuse. Shoeki even called the belief that humans could be possessed by fox spirits an error of Shinto scholars.
One intriguing aspect of Shoeki's writings is their descriptions of transformations, such as crows diving into the ocean and becoming squids, or schools of little fish growing and solidifying into huge whales. Kaul's book provides a glimpse into perceptions from another age that will likely be foreign to modern readers, making it a valuable read for those interested in animals, history, or philosophy.
Written by urgent.news from The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
