The author Gentaku Otsuki (given name Shigekata, also known as Shikan, pseudonym Bansui) studied Dutch medicine under Gempaku Sugita and learned Dutch from Ryotaku Maeno. Entering the service of the Date family, lords of Sendai, he set up the Shirando (a school), where his followers included Sokichi Hashimoto, Sampaku Inamura, Saisuke Yamamura and others. During the Bunka era (1804-1818), Otsuki studied astronomy on orders from the shogenate, and translated Chomel's encyclopedia under the title Kosei shimpen.
　　The Rangaku kaitei is organized in 2 volumes and 25 chapters; volume 1 gives a brief description of the history and background of Dutch studies, while volume 2 is divided into sections entitled Letters, Numbers and Measures, Rhyme, Phonology, Rhetoric, Exegesis, Interpretation, Translation of Words, Translation of Texts, Explanation of Terms, Synonyms, Idioms, Auxiliary Particles, Punctuation, Bibliography, and Explication, with brief descriptions of each topic.
　　The work is intended for beginners and far from complete, but it gained wide acceptance as a systematic grammar of Dutch, and greatly stimulated interest in this language among the general public.