Shokugaku Keigen

The Shokugaku Keigen by the Dutch scholar Yoan Udagawa, is the first book on Western modern botany introduced in Japan as well as the West. In the foreword of the book, Kenbo Mitsukuri writes that this bool differs from honzogaku and Western botany in the past, stressing the importance of studying the law and process of natural science as a academic study, and not merely categorizing. It comprises of three volumes with the first volume discussing plant classification, and the shape and physiology of roots, stem and leaves. The second volume looks at flowers and fruits, and the reproduction and DNA mechanism of seeds. The third volume talks about plant fermentation and decomposition and includes diagrams.