This work is a translation by author Dr. Erika de Poorter of the important Sarugaku dangi ('Talks on Sarugaku'), a collection of comments by the actor, playwright and critic Zeami (1363-1443) as recorded by his son Motoyoshi. Sarugaku is the original term for Nō, the classical Japanese theatre of which Zeami is the founding father. The Sarugaku dangi is generally considered as belonging to Zeami's transmitted writings (densho), but more specifically it forms part of his treatises on Nō (Nōgakuron). In addition to two letters and a number of Nō plays,...

Although educated in medicine and law, Isaac Titsingh (1745-1812) decided to enter the VOC as a 'Junior Merchant'. From 1779 to 1785, he was Director of the VOC in Japan, where he was detached to the island of Deshima. Titsingh owned the first extensive Japanological collection in Europe, and wrote a tri-lingual series of studies on Japan, as such becoming the first Dutch Japanologist. The two volumes contain 300 of his letters in the original Dutch language; the Preface and Introduction are in English.