Engelbert Kaempfer was a German doctor who was assigned to the Dutch trading post in Nagasaki in 1690. He stayed on Dejima for two years, collecting information on Japan during that time. After his return to Europe he compiled this information into The History of Japan, in which “Uninhabited islands” are mentioned. According to Kaempfer’s account, around 1675 (the date as recorded by the author himself), a small ship that had been drifted away from Hachijojima in a storm had discovered a large island. He also described how the island located 300 leagues east of Hachijojima and although it was uninhabited, it was covered in fruit trees and arak palms, and blessed with abundant fresh water. Based on the type of palm trees, the location of this island was inferred to be south of Japan rather than east. As the island was uninhabited, it was called “Buneshima” (uninhabited island) or “Island Bune.” (Ref. 1)

* As Kaempfer introduced the discovery of the uninhabited islands by the Japanese, its existence became known internationally. In addition, although the original publication states that the ship drifted there in 1675, it has been pointed out that this is likely to be a mistake and the actual year should be 1670, given the period Kaempfer was stationed on Dejima. (Ref. 1)

Ref.1：Engelbert Kaempfer, The History of Japan, together with a description of the kingdom of Siam, 1690-1692,Glasgow: J. MacLehose and sons, 1906, Vol.1, pp.113-114.

Related documents
Ref. 1: Tanaka Hiroyuki, Bakumatsu no Ogasawara (Ogasawara at the End of the Edo Period), Chuo Koronsha, 1997 (Chuko Shinsho), pp. 18-20.

Ref. 2: Engelbert Kaempfer (translated by Imai Tadashi), Nihonshi (The History of Japan), Kasumigaseki Shuppan, 1973, pp. 95-96.