Shaping his View of Japan: The Education of Engelbert Kaempfer

Engelbert Kaempfer left his native Lemgo at the age of sixteen after two of his uncles had fallen victim to the witch hunt of that town. He financed his studies by performing in boys’ choirs that were much in demand in Lutheran church services at the time. His graduation thesis was written at a highschool in Gdansk, some 900km from home at the late age of twenty-two on a hotly debated political topic. This essay examines how these circumstances of his early life shaped his view of Japan.