In the Edo period, various kinds of birds and beasts were imported by ship from China and the Netherlands. Besides those creatures, many birds and animals which wandered into Japan are recorded in natural histories from this period. In Chapter 3, we show you the unusual animals, birds, fish and shellfish that amazed people in the Edo period.

1. Wandering Birds, Unusual Birds

Nowadays, rare species and wandering birds brought into Japan by typhoons sometimes make the headlines. This was also the case in the Edo period. There are quite a few pictures of pelicans and albatrosses. There are also pictures of the already extinct crested shelduck and rare birds from Ezochi (Hokkaido as we know it today).

This is an illustration of an albatross that fell at Koishikawa-baba, Edo (a part of Tokyo as we know it today) in 1832. Although it is said that millions of albatrosses often flew to Honshu and Kyushu in the Edo period, now only a few live in Torishima and several other islands. This book was written by MORI Baien, a vassal of the Tokugawa shogunate, and contains 131 pictures of waterfowl and land birds in total (including this illustration).

In the Edo period, cranes were not so unusual and could even be seen in Edo. However, the demoiselle crane which is shown below was especially prized because it was a rare migrant bird and had beautiful long feathers on its breast and decorative feathers stretching from around its eyes. The demoiselle crane drawn here was caught in Owari (the western part of Aichi prefecture as we know it today) and presented to TOKUGAWA Ienari, the 11th Shogun, in 1821. Before this picture, there is a record which describes someone who caught a demoiselle crane and presented it to the Shogun. The painter of this book, KORIKI Enkoan, was a vassal of the Owari Han.

“Garancho” is an old Japanese name for pelicans. It was in the waters of Fushimi (a part of Kyoto as we know it today) in 1430 that a pelican was captured in Japan for the first time. According to records, many pelicans were captured and shown as curiosities during the Edo period. At the bottom-right corner of this illustration, it is written that this pelican was caught in the waters of Atsuta, Owari in August 1862. It seems to have been caught in a typhoon and wandered there. The painter of this picture, SHIIZU Kisen, was a painter of the Owari Han.

This picture shows a breeding pair of crested shelducks that were caught as wandering birds near Hakodate in October 1822 (above: male, below: female). This species is a kind of duck which inhabited the area near the Korean Peninsula, and once were sent from Korea as a potential product in the early 18th century. Although they were sold at pet bird shops in the city of Edo around the end of the Edo period, it seems that this species is extinct nowadays. This material is superior in its illustrations and contains 76 pictures of waterfowl.

The name of this species is not described but this is a rhinoceros auklet, which lives around the North Pacific Ocean including northern Japan. Sketches of rhinoceros auklets were often included in bird encyclopedias published during the Edo period. This is because the name was known from long ago as the title of Zeami’s Noh recitation Uto (rhinoceros auklet), which is based on a legend from Sotogahama, a part of Aomori prefecture today. This illustration has a stamp mark of the Shinobazu-Bunko Library at the bottom-right corner, so this book is said to have been compiled by YASHIRO Hirokata, the owner of the Shinobazu-Bunko Library, who was a vassal of the Tokugawa shogunate and a specialist of Japanese literature. This book includes approximately 40 pictures.

This bird is a tufted puffin. Tufted puffins inhabit the area from Hokkaido to the Aleutian Islands, and were an uncommon seabird in Japan other than in Ezochi (Hokkaido as we know it today). Sessai is a pseudonym of MASHIYAMA Masakata, the lord of the Ise Nagashima Han (a part of Mie prefecture as we know it today), who was also known as a superior painter. This material consists of 12 scrolls. Excluding duplications and rough sketches, this book includes 120 species of birds. The National Diet Library also holds a manuscript of Choshu Cho Fu (Pictures of Birds by MASHIYAMA Sessai) <特7-179>.

Although the note for this picture says that this is an “etohiruka” (tufted puffin), actually this is a horned puffin. The author, MIZUTANI Toyobumi was a vassal of the Owari Han and a famous naturalist, but it seems that he mistook it for a tufted puffin. Horned puffins inhabit the area from the Chishima Islands to the Aleutian Islands, and come to Japan in winter. The bird illustrated here was caught in the waters of Atsuta, Owari in 1809. This book is one of the manuscripts of Mizutani Kin Pu and includes 514 pictures.

This is a jacana, the Japanese name of which, “renkaku” (ren (lotus) + kaku (edge)), comes from its behavior of crossing over leaves of lotuses with its long legs. This is the copy of a picture drawn at Chikuzen (western part of Fukuoka prefecture as we know it today) in 1816, when this jacana was caught. The range of white feathers is larger in this picture than it was in the original. Jacana mainly live around India, South East Asia, and South China, but sometimes wander into Japan. Going way back, there is a record of a jacana caught at Shizuoka in 1704 as well.

万国管闚

possession of The Oriental Library (Toyo Bunko)

The bird illustrated to the left below is a sandgrouse. Although sandgrouse are mainly found in desert areas of Eurasia, they sometimes wander to Japan, and several pictures were drawn of them in the Edo period. The other bird on the right above is a penduline tit, of which there are few sketches. This material contains 54 pictures, which were copied from an original manuscript in the possession of the Hamacho-Kano family, by painters including KONO Michiaki. This volume is characterized by its many excellent pictures.

The Japanese crested ibis is now extinct, but once lived throughout Japan and was often seen even in Edo and Kyoto in the Edo period. This book is a pictorial encyclopedia of 61 edible birds, illustrated by HATTORI Sessai at the request of MORI Tatsuyuki (physician to the Fukuyama Han, as well as a specialist in Japanese literature). Naikaku-bunko (the Cabinet Library in the National Archives of Japan) holds another autograph by Tatsuyuki.

Blakiston’s fish-owl is the largest species of owls in Japan, which has become endangered close to extinction recently, but once plenty of them existed. The note on the right below says that this owl came to “the museum” on 22 August 1872 and this picture was painted on 30 August by Sessai. This “the museum” is what is now the Tokyo National Museum, where HATTORI Sessai, the painter of this picture, belonged to its department of flora-and-fauna research at that time.

2. Exotic Avian Species

In the Edo period, numerous birds from foreign countries were imported. Some of them were for pets for shoguns, the feudal lords of hans, or wealthy merchants, and others were for exhibition. Parakeets and parrots formed a large part of them. It is assumed that more than 30 species were imported. Southern cassowaries, called “dacho” (this word indicates “ostrich” in modern Japanese), were also imported more than ten times.

The Takagi family were Nagasaki daikan (officials) by heredity. When unusual animals and birds came from abroad, they sent illustrations to the shogunate government. This material comes from a copy for backup and contains 39 species of birds. The bird shown below is a bamboo partridge, which was sketched in 1727 and assumed to be the oldest existing illustration. The bamboo partridge is indigenous to South China and Taiwan. They were often brought into Japan by Chinese ships. Current feral bamboo partridges across Japan are descendants of ones released after 1918.

This picture shows golden pheasants (left: male, right: female), a kind of bird in the Phasianidae family which originally inhabited the Sichuan and Hubei provinces in China. The first import of golden pheasants was recorded in 1610, when a ship from Northern Vietnam presented it to TOKUGAWA Ieyasu, the first Shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate. Golden pheasants were often brought into Japan after that and kept to attract customers at Kacho-jaya (a place where people would eat and drink, enjoying watching flowers and birds) or to be shown as curiosities in exhibitions. The author MAKINO Sadamoto was the lord of Hitachi-Kasama Han (a part of Ibaraki prefecture as we know it today). The National Diet Library also holds Sadamoto’s other works such as Shasei Ihen (Sketches left behind by MAKINO Sadamoto), Somoku Shasei (Sketches of Plants), and Kaboku Shasei (Sketches of Flowers).

This is a purple swamphen, a kind of rail. The purple swamphen has a red beak and forehead shield, and looks beautiful with its wholly blue-toned body. They are native to tropical areas in Africa, South Europe, and Asia, so they cannot inhabit Japan. It is said that this bird was first imported by a Chinese ship in 1737. They were introduced to Japan several times after that, but it seems that nobody succeeded at breeding them in Japan.

The note of this picture says this is a “dacho” (this word means “ostrich” in modern Japanese), but dacho meant southern cassowary in the Edo period. In the oldest record of southern cassowaries brought in Japan, it was presented from the lord of Hirado Han (a part of Nagasaki prefecture as we know it today) to the shogunate government. After that, a number of southern cassowaries were introduced by Dutch ships, and some of them were put on show. Southern cassowaries originally come from Australia and New Zealand. This material contains 80 species of curious birds. By the way, the real dacho (ostrich) was imported into Japan in 1658 only once. Unfortunately, the ostrich died in Edo castle soon after it was presented.

This bird, characterized by its head feather, is a western crown pigeon which came from New Guinea in 1795 and was kept in Edo castle. The western crown pigeon was firstly brought in to eat by a Dutch ship in 1787, but the shogunate government bought it because of its novelty. As this story spread, more and more western crown pigeons were imported afterward. This material is one of the few parts left of Hyakucho Fu (Pictures of Birds) by KURIMOTO Tanshu and illustrates 21 uncommon birds from Japan and abroad.

The grey parrot is a kind of parrot indigenous to Africa. In the Edo period, many types of parakeets and parrots were imported. The large part of them were from Southeast Asia, but some were from Africa and Latin America like this illustrated one. They were for pets of the shogun, feudal lords, and court nobles, as well as for show. This bird was imported by a Dutch ship in 1832.

3. Fish and Shellfish

In the Edo period, there are many paintings of unusual looking fish. At the same time, shell fanatics competed to obtain rare species. Here are some examples. At that time, “fish” was considered to included jellyfish and salamanders, and “shellfish” included turtles and crabs.

Sunfish grow to 1 to 3 meters in length. Its peculiar appearance drew people’s attention, and many records remain. The picture on the right page is a sketch by KURIMOTO Tanshu, the physician to the shogun, and the left one is a copy from a picture which TAMURA Ransui, Tanshu’s father, acquired. This book is a paper on sunfish. Tanshu collected nine sunfish illustrations and added considerations. Some illustrations are cited from Dutch books owned by OTSUKI Gentaku, Tanshu’s friend, who studied western studies in Dutch and was interested in sunfish.

This is an illustration of a sunfish that drifted down to Himetsu-mura village, Sado island. The note says that the sunfish reached a length of 3 meters from face to tail.

This picture illustrates a Triodon macropterus (three-toothed puffer) which was caught in Namikiri-ura bay, Shima (a part of Mie prefecture as we know it today). This species is a globefish but shares some features with filefish. They inhabit below the Miura Peninsula in Japan. This fish is very rare, so sketches drawn in the Edo period are also very rare.

The fish above is an oarfish caught at Shima-gun, Chikuzen. This species is a deep-sea fish which has a long body and is characterized by its partially stretching red fin. You can see several records on oarfish. The fish below is a crestfish, which is also a deep-sea fish, but this species has not been recorded as often despite its conspicuous shape. The note on the upper-left has nothing to do with these two fish. It seems that this book consists of 15 pictures of rare fish excerpted and transcribed from KURIMOTO Tanshu’s fish catalogue. OKUKURA Gyosen, the author of this book, is a greengrocer in Edo.

It is relatively recent when some killifish mutated into red killifish. Actually, it seems to have occurred around 1800. In the middle-upper part of this page, there is a sketch of a red killifish which is considered as the first appearance of this mutation. The sketch of a white killifish (killifish mutated into white) drawn on the left also seems to be the oldest record of that mutation. The goldfish on the left below is Ranchu (development of lion-head goldfish). The author is MORI Baien, a vassal of the Tokugawa shogunate. This book comes in a set of three, two of which were titled Baien Gyohin Zusei (Pictorial Books of Fish by Baien). They include 249 pictures in total.

The largest among the four specimens illustrated is the Japanese giant salamander. The picture in the center below is its larva, and the one in the left below is the Japanese clawed Salamander. Although the Japanese giant salamander was known of for a long time, it was unusual for ordinary people. This picture illustrates the salamanders caught under a floodgate near the waterwheel in Itabashi (a part of Tokyo as we know today), which was showed for commoners after the 11th Shogun TOKUGAWA Ienari saw it. This book is an autographed pictorial encyclopedia by OKUKURA Gyosen and includes 683 pictures.

The picture to the left below is a horseshoe crab. This is the oldest illustration of a horseshoe crab in Japan and describes its characteristic points well. German naturalist E. Kämpfer bought this Kinmo Zui when he visited Japan from 1690 to 1692. He reprinted many pictures from this book into his work Geschichte und Beschreibung von Japan (The History of Japan) including this horseshoe crab, as well as a turtle (on the right above) and softshell turtle (on the right below).

On the right page, there are illustrations of the very rare “precious wentletrap” (center) and textile cone (right below). On the left page, there are illustrations of Hirase’s slit shell (above: back side, below: mouth side). These are the world’s oldest pictures of millionaire shells, which are said to be living fossils. The slit of rim of a cover, a notable feature of millionaire shells, was described with the utmost precision. This pictorial encyclopedia was originally authored by KIMURA Kenkado, and Kenkado-kai at Osaka took extracts to publish this book in 1926. This picture itself is printed in black-and-white, but the original version is colored.

The snail on the right side is a geographer cone which was originally in KIMURAKenkado’s possession. On the left page, above is a textile cone and below is an abbas cone. Each of them is a kind of Conidae and they seem to have been imported from the Ryukyu islands or Southeast Asia. This material is a compilation of 254 rare shells from Moku Hachi Fu（Pictorial Book on Shells by MUSASHI Sekiju）.

Starting from the right, this picture shows a paper nautilus, a Hyalonema sieboldi (a kind of snail), and a type of oyster. Hyalonema sieboldi has white hair, which is the root of glass sponge to stand on the ocean floor. The lower part is the stark. This shell is often caught in fishing nets, when the sponge itself is broken. The Japanese name “Hossu-gai” comes from its visual. Hossu, a bundle of animal hair or hemp with a handle, is a kind of ritual item for priest and just looks like Hylaonema sieboldi. In Enoshima island, this shell was sold as a souvenir. This book was authored by Mori Baien, a vassal of the Tokugawa shogunate, and contains 323 pictures in total.

4. Therians and Others

As well as birds, ships from the Netherlands and China brought in many unusual therians as pets or as show animals. Also, just like in recent years, there are several records that indicate sightings of seadogs in the Edo period, which may show the inquisitiveness of our ancestors. Some of them say that even the shogun saw these unique animals.

This illustration shows a Ryukyu flying fox (Pteropus dasymallus) from the Ryukyu islands eating a sweet potato slice. The oldest record on this species is in Tokugawa Jikki (The True Tokugawa Records) in 1642, which says the third Shogun TOKUGAWA Iemitsu gave a Yaeyama flying fox, a subspecies of the Ryukyu flying fox (Pteropus dasymallus yaeyamae), to TOKUGAWA Mitsusada, the lord of the Kii Han (a part of Wakayama and Mie prefecture as we know it now). After that, this type of flying fox was often imported for show. This picture is illustrated by KURIMOTO Tanshu, but there is no telling where and when he made the sketch.

The seal illustrated below wandered into coast of Atsuta, Owari. At that time, a lot of curious people gathered, and this seal was caught to put on a show. Just like in recent years, sightings of seals frequently happened all over Japan in the Edo period. This illustration was painted by OKUBO Masaaki (also known as his pseudonym Heirei-an), with a note by OKOCHI Zonshin (also known as his pseudonym Kanshoshi.), a brother of ITO Keisuke. Both were members of Shohyaku-sha, a group of naturalists in Owari.

This animal, described as a “kai-zo” (literally means sea elephant), is a walrus that drifted down to Katsukumi-mura village, Kameda Peninsula, Hokkaido in 1860. In the Edo period, sealions and seals were often illustrated, but it seems that this picture is the only sketch of a walrus. This book contains 24 pictures of unusual flora and fauna in total, including oarfish and a camel. Most of them were excerpted from Risshi Gyofu (KURIMOTO Tanshu’s fish catalogue) and other books. The National Diet Library also holds another book with the same title, which also contains 30 novel animals and plants.

In 1728, a male and a female elephant from Vietnam arrived in Nagasaki at the order of TOKUGAWA Yoshimune, the 8th Shogun. The female one died soon after arrival in Nagasaki, but the other 8-year-old male elephant made the journey from Nagasaki to Edo on foot and was brought to the shogun the next year. This illustration is a copy of the Karasuma family’s elephant picture which was painted at Kyoto during this journey. After arriving at Edo, the elephant was first kept in Hama-goten (a townhome of the shogun), then moved to Nakano, and lived until 1742.

This illustration shows a Sunda porcupine. This species was first introduced to Japan in the Muromachi period. In the Edo period, they were imported several times and some of them were put on show. This picture has no detailed caption, but there is a record which says that SHIMAZU Shigenari, the lord of the Satsuma Han (Kagoshima prefecture as we know it today) bought two Sunda porcupines from a Dutch trading house at Nagasaki and presented one of them to TANUMA Okitsugu, the Roju (a highest-ranking officer of the shogunate government) in 1772, who gave it to TAMURA Ransui (father of Tanshu) at the end of the year. It seems that this illustration was drawn at that time.

The Takagi family were Nagasaki daikan (officials) by heredity. When uncommon animals and birds were brought in from abroad, they ordered their official painters to paint those animals and birds in order to ask the shogunate government whether they should send them to Edo. This material comes from a copy for backup and contains 39 species (34 birds and 5 animals). This is an illustration of a slow loris, a kind of prosimian indigenous to Southeast Asia. It was brought to Japan by a Dutch ship in 1833. Other than the slow loris, this book contains a Java mouse-deer (explanation in next section), 15 types of parakeets, Blue-winged pitta (Pitta moluccenis), and Guinea fowl.

This illustration shows a Java mouse-deer, imported at the same time as the slow loris. It is only 30 centimeters in body length. Mouse-deer, also known as chevrotain, look like deer (the Cervidae family) but have no horns and belong to the Tragulidae family, which are more primitive than the Cervidae family. Until the discovery of this picture, it had been said that the first import of a mouse-deer was in 1903.

This material includes sketches of an Asiatic elephant and a camel, and the one below is the Bactrian camel which was imported in 1862 and had been on show at Ryogokubashi Nishizume and Asakusa Okuyama (both are in Tokyo as we know it today) in the next year. In 1821, an Arabian camel was introduced and captured people’s hearts and minds. However, this was the first time for commoners to see a Bactrian camel. This picture was illustrated during an exhibition by OKA Shokoku, an unspecified person.

People in the Edo period believed in water imps (kappa or suiko in Japanese) and several treatises about water imps were authored. Among them, Suiko Koryaku (Study on water imps) is the most distinguished, a collection of materials compiled by Koga Toan in 1820. Suiko Junihon no Zu is transcriptions of 12 pictures from the extended edition of Suiko Koryaku. The author Sakamoto Konen was a surgeon for the lord of Kii Han, and SAKAMOTO Juntaku, Konen’s younger brother, was a surgeon for the lord of Takatsuki Han (a part of Osaka prefecture as we know it today). Juntaku also wrote Hyakki Sonsin Zu（True pictures of 100 flowers）<200-219>.