was a 19th-century Japanese scholar of Western studies, or "
Rangaku
''Rangaku'' (Kyūjitai: , ), and by extension , is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of Western technology and medicine in the period when the countr ...
". In 1837, he published the first volume of his , a compilation of scientific books in Dutch, which describes a wide range of scientific knowledge from the West. Most of the Dutch original material appears to be derived from William Henry's 1799 ''Elements of Experimental Chemistry''. In particular, the book contains a very detailed description of the
electric battery
An electric battery is a source of electric power consisting of one or more electrochemical cells with external connections for powering electrical devices. When a battery is supplying power, its positive Terminal (electronics), terminal is the ...
invented by Volta forty years earlier in 1800. The battery itself was constructed by Udagawa in 1831 and used in experiments, including medical ones, based on a belief that electricity could help cure illnesses.
Udagawa's ''Science of Chemistry'' also reports for the first time in details the findings and theories of
Lavoisier
Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794), CNRS (
In ''Botanika kyō'' (''Botany Sutra''), published in 1822 in the style of a Buddhist sutra, Udagawa argued that the traditional, Chinese-influenced system of nomenclature in Japan was imprecise, and put forth the Linnean system as an alternative. He also created the word for animal: .
A genus of orchid, ''
Yoania
''Yoania'' is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. It described in 1872 by Russian botanist Karl Maximovich and was named after Japanese polymath and botanist Udagawa Yōan.
Distribution
This genus is mainly Species ...
,'' is named after Udagawa.
Image:Seimikaisou.jpg, A description of a Volta battery in ''Introduction to Chemistry'' (''Seimi Kaisō''), published in 1840
Image:SeimiKaisouChemistry.jpg, Chemical experiments in ''Introduction to Chemistry'' (''Seimi Kaisō'')