略论日本风说书

On Japanese Fusetugakis (Books on Overseas Information)

锁国时代的德川幕府规定在长崎入港的中国、荷兰商船必须向长崎地区最高行政长官——长崎奉行报告海外局势,这种报告书统称为"风说书"。"风说书"按其来源不同,分为"兰之风说书"、"唐之风说书",介绍欧洲、东印度及东亚事务。另有"别段风说书"专门对幕府所关心的重大事件进行整理并收集报道。这些"风说书"经"风说役"翻译、整理后呈递幕府,既是锁国体制下幕府了解海外的主要情报来源和其制定外交政策的"内参",也对维新前的日本民众起到了思想启蒙的作用。

During the locked Tokugawa Times,the government stipulated that Chinese and Netherlandish merchant vessels must report overseas situations to Bugyou of Nagasaki（the Chief Executive of Nagasaki） when they arrived at the port,and such reports were called fusetugakis.Based on their different sources,fusetugakis could be divided into Netherlandish fusetugakis and Chinese fusetugakis,which introduced various European affairs,East of India and Eastern Asian affairs.Moreover,there was another kind of fusetugaki,special fusetugaki,which focused on sorting out and collecting important affairs concerned by the government.Fusetugakis,translated by special officials,were the main way under the Lock-up policy by which the government knew foreign situations,and the interior reference when foreign policies were formulated.What is more,these books have had enlightening effects on Japanese people before Meiji Restoration.