Hiraga Gennai

Who was Hiraga Gennai?

Hiraga Gennai was an Edo period Japanese pharmacologist, student of Rangaku, physician, author, painter and inventor who is well known for his Erekiteru, Kandankei and Kakanpu. He also wrote the satirical essay "On Farting."

Born into a low-ranking samurai family, his father was Shiraishi Mozaemon, his mother was from the Yamashita clan, and he had many siblings. His real name was Kunitomo, but he also went by the pen names Kyūkei, Fūrai Sanjin, Tenjiku rōnin and Fukuchi Kigai. He is most well known by the name "Gennai", however.

He first studied medicinal herbs in Osaka, with Toda Kyokuzan, before moving to Edo in 1757. There, he studied with Tamura Ransui, and wrote a number of books, some on scientific or nature topics, some satirical novels, in the kokkeibon and dangibon genres. In his scientific experiments, he prospected for various ores, wove asbestos, calculated temperatures, and worked with static electricity. Gennai also studied Western painting and ceramics techniques, and produced a number of works in that vein.