was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and scholar of ''

rangaku ''Rangaku'' (Kyūjitai: /Shinjitai: , literally "Dutch learning", and by extension "Western learning") is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of West ...

'' (Western studies). 1751 – August 2, 1809 He served the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

as a physician and as a translator of

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

. He was the older brother of author and ''rangaku'' scholar Morishima Chūryō. As the eldest son of the Katsuragawa family, Dutch-style physicians to the shōgun, Hoshū was appointed to that position in

1777 Events January–March * January 2 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of the Assunpink Creek: American general George Washington's army repulses a British attack by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis, in a second ...

. He began teaching at the shogunal school of medicine in 1794. In addition to collaborating with Sugita Genpaku on ''

Kaitai Shinsho is a medical text translated into Japanese during the Edo period. It was written by Sugita Genpaku, and was published by Suharaya Ichibee () in 1774, the third year of An'ei. The body comprises four volumes, the illustrations, one. The contents ...

'', the first Japanese translation of a Western treatise on anatomy, he was the author of ''Hokusa Bunryaku'', one of the earliest Japanese accounts of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. He learned surgery with Nakagawa Jun'an from Carl Peter Thunberg when he was in

Nagasaki is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole Nanban trade, port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hi ...

. By the recommendation of Thunberg, Kirill Laxman wrote a letter to him. However, the letter was taken by Tokugawa shogunate and never returned. (See. Kirill Laxman#Letters to Japanese scholars)

References

*Imaizumi Genkichi (1965). ''Rangaku no i.e. Katsuragawa no hitobito.'' Tokyo: Shinozaki Shorin. 1751 births 1809 deaths 18th-century Japanese physicians Japanese translators Japanese scholars Rangaku 18th-century Japanese translators {{Japan-med-bio-stub