noun
Institute for the Study of Western Books; Institute for the Investigation of Foreign Books
Historical term for a late Edo-period government institute that translated and studied Western books, especially Dutch ones. Later renamed 洋書調所 and then 開成所.
蕃書調所は、幕末に西洋の学問を研究するために設立された。
The Institute for the Study of Western Books was established at the end of the Edo period to research Western learning.
From 蕃書 (foreign books, especially Western ones) + 調所 (investigation office). The exact derivation is straightforward; the term is a historical compound name.