In this chapter, the reader is introduced to the life and works of Andō Shōeki, as well as his reception and world-building. In a first step, Shōeki’s biography is summarised in three stages of his life, starting with his childhood and training as a physician (1703–1744), then his years in the town of Hachinohe (1744–1758), and concluding with his return to his native village Niida in 1758, where he stayed until his death in 1762. A second step explains why, out of 101 volumes of Shōeki’s main work Shizen Shin’eidō, only 16 volumes still exist. In a third step, the reader is introduced to Shōeki’s cosmology and metaphysics. Without a basic understanding of Shōeki’s thought, the translations in Chaps. 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 and 8 would be very difficult to understand; therefore, his cosmology, his idea of the nature of beings, and his understanding of shizen (nature) will be outlined.