The first part of this paper revisits the rationale for examining historical views on translation and offers examples of questions that can help researchers—particularly those new to the study of translation history—contextualize and evaluate historical writings on translation. The second part applies some of these questions to a study of the relatively unknown writings of Motoki Ryōei, an eighteenth-century Japanese translator of European scientific works, in an indirect attempt to demonstrate how such questions, although best combined with a more holistic framework, can help researchers delve beyond the obvious historical facts.