Abstract: In the latter half of the 18th century, cartesian concepts of the dualism between the body and soul were introduced to Japan through the medium of western medical books. In this article the author analysed the translations of these books by the scholars Sugita Genpaku and Udagawa Genshin. By comparing the western texts with Genpaku’s and Genshin’s translations he shows that both interpreted the cartesian concepts within the framework of classical Chinese thought.
