Fu-Ru-He-He-He

During the 18th century, Japan operated under isolationism, engaging in limited and heavily regulated commerce with few countries. Their sole substantial trade partner was the Netherlands, through which society acquired and studied developments in European science. In the early-mid 1770s, a group of physicians, translated a Dutch anatomy book into Japanese. Only one of them had any knowledge of the European language and it wasn't adequate for the task. The resulting tome—New Text on Anatomy (解體新書), published in 1774—greatly advanced Japanese understanding of medical science, despite multiple mistranslations.

Decades later, one of its writers, Genpaku Sugita, recorded the making of the text in a memoir, The Beginning of Dutch Studies (蘭学事始). A production anecdote relayed concerns "verhrffende"—an inflection of "verheffen" (to raise)—which he thought meant "mound" after cross-referencing a number of books, which he found in the nose section. The word is spelled in the book as "Furuhehhendo" (フルヘッヘンド). This tale gained popularity with the release a 1921 Kan Kikuchi novel also titled The Beginning of Dutch Studies. Direct, faithful translations from the original Dutch have found the word nowhere in the nose section, but present in the breast section.

"Fu-Ru-He-He-He" is derived from "Furuhehhendo".

Connections

 * One of the "Holland Element" alludes to the "Furuhehhendo" anecdote more directly.