Studies of Moxa. (Part 11). Production ground of Moxa. (2) / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

The main production ground of Moxa in the Edo era was Shiga prefecutre and Gifu prefecutre, but the present main production ground is Niigata prefecutre. To clarify the process of this transition, the author examined old documents and legends.<BR>The I have already reported about the Edo era, therefore this paper reports after the Meiji era from 1868 to 1998.<BR>In the 1870's the biggest production ground was in Toyama prefecutre, followed by Fukui prefecutre, Niigata prefecutre and Ishikawa prefecutre are following that. However, in about 1930 Niigata prefecutre became the biggest production ground, when almost 100% of high-level Moxa was produced there. Moxa was also produced in Toyama prefecutre and Shiga prefecutre, although in very small quantities. For a certain period of time in the Showa era, Moxa was produced in Nagano, Ehime, Fukushima, Gunma prefecutre and Hokkaido but none is producted there nowadays.<BR>The main reasons why the chief producing area was Niigata are as follows :<BR>1. The former grasses of Yomogi were abundant and high quality.<BR>2. Since Moxa was manufactured in the winter, it was easy for them to attract people to work in Niigata. In addition, labor wages were low in this area.

Studies of Moxa (Part10). Areas Where Mugwort Grows (1) / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

During the Edo Period (1603-1867), the main area of production of “moxa” (processed medicinal herbs) was thought to be Omi (present-day Shiga Prefecture). However, extensive research of archives and contemporary documents, as well as field studies in west-central Japan, indicates that moxa wasoriginally produced in Mino (Gifu Pref.) and Omi (Shiga Pref.) in the early Edo Period, but subsequently spread to the Hokuriku region (Fukui, Toyama and Ishikawa prefectures). By the 1830's, production had extended to Echigoin present-day Niigata Prefecture. Evidence also points to producers in Iyo (Ehime Pref.) and Tsukushi (Fukuoka Pref). However, most of the production appears to have been centered on Hokuriku. The main reasons for this may have been as follows : <BR>1) Yomogi grasses used in production are abundant in this region.<BR>2) Since moxa was manufactured in the winter, it was easy to find workers in Hokuriku, where heavy snows preclude outdoor employment in this largely agricultual area.

Study of Moxa. (Part 7) / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

Neither stamp mills nor water mills are observed in the present moxa factories. These mills had been used in various districts until the Showa period. For the purpose of preserving the record of these disappearing mills, we talked to persons related to factories in the past, visited the districts with these mills, and investigated the literature.<br>The water mill in the Kijima Moxa factory had a diameter of 3.6m. The water mill in the Kameya Sakyo Shoten had a diameter of about 5m and the capacity of 30 horsepower; its moxa production was the highest in Japan. The stamp mill in the Kijima factory was made of keyaki and had a diameter of 48cm and a depth of 23cm; the pestle was a rectangular parallelepiped (11.5×11.5×280cm).<br>The Sekihara Moxa factory was by tradition initiated during the Tempo period (about 1840). The equipment in this factory in the Showa period was similar to that in the Kijima Moxa factory.

Study of Moxa. (Part 6). Summary of the production method / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

For the production of moxa, Artemisia princeps or Artemisia montana as materials is collected in July-August. Leaves are immediately removed and dried under direct sunlight for 3-4 days. In the factory, thermal drying is performed in a dry room at a temperature of 80-170°C to decrease the water content to 1-2% or less.<br>The dried leaves are roughly broken and ground using a stone mill. For rough shredding, a high speed rotator resembling the thrashing machine for agriculture is mainly used.<br>The entire process of moxa production from collection of the original herb is summarized in the table.<br>The rate of moxa production from collected raw herb is 0.5-0.6% in the highest grade product and 3-8% in the lowest grade product, and there are various grades between them. The rate of moxa production from dried leaves is 3.0-3.5% in the highest grade product and about 20-50% in the lowest grade product.

Studies Moxa. (Part 5). A Winnowing-machine / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

The winnowing-machine is an apparatus for the final purification in the manufacture of high-grade moxa.<br>This winnower is a special apparatus for moxa manufacture and has a structure that differs from the structure of the winnowing-machine for agriculture. Its main part consists of a vaned wheel that rotates at a high rate, a large cylinderical bamboo wicker surrounding the vaned wheel, and a wooden box containing this.<br>When crude moxa is placed in this winnower, and the vane wheel is rotated at a rate of 70-120rpm, impurities are removed through the gaps of the winnower, leaving high-grade moxa inside.<br>In general, a two-step method is used in which powdery impurities are removed using the first winnowing-machine, and final purification is done using the second winnower.

Studies of Moxa. (Part 4). Sieves used in the Manufacture of Moxa / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

At present, rotating cylindrical sieves are generally used in the manufacturing of moxa. This particular type of sieve, made of a wire mesh combined with bamboo wicker, was designed specifically for use in the moxa industry. The sieve is 50-80cm in diameter and 1.5-4.0m long. The top three-fourths are made of a wire mesh and the bottom one-fourth is made of bamboo wicker. The sieve rotates at a rate of 15-30r.p.m. The sieve is tilted at a slight angle (3-7 degrees), with the end slightly lower than the mouth. A vibrating type sieve, with a horizontal reciprocating action, is also used as an auxiliary sieve in the moxa manufacturing process.<br>In addition to a discussion of the features of the sieves currently used for moxa manufacture, an historical review of the spread of the current type of sieves in the moxa industry will also be described.

Studies of Moxa. (Part 3). A study of millstones used in producing moxa / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

Millstones used in the production of moxa were studied. Most manufacturers of moxa use handmills in the production of moxa. These handmills are about 70cm in diameter, and the upper and lower mortars are each 20cm thick. On the surface of each handmill, there are 6 demarcations, each with 6 or 7 grooves. The handmills make 30-50 rotations per minute. Low quality moxa is pulverized once by the handmill while in producing high quality moxa, the process is repeated 2 or 3 times. After pulverization, the moxa is passed through a sieve.<br>Millstones used in the production of moxa are processed from rough stones such as amphibole andesite and calc-alkali amphibole andesite which are produce of Hayakawa in Itoigawa city, Niigata province.<br>We also encountered a millstone with a unique form which had not been reported in the literature.

Studies of Moxa(II) - About Mt. Ibuki / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

The aim of this study is to clarify the relation between two famous places for moxa: Mt. Ibuki in Shiga prefecture and another Mt. Ibuki in Tochigi prefecture. Compartive study on the two mountains was done in terms of history, folk-tales, surroundings, Yomogi, etc.<br>1) In the Heian era, Tochigi-Ibuki was popular as a moxa place. On the other hand, Shiga-Ibuki appeared in history after the Azuchi era. 2) It had been thought that each Yomogi from these two Ibuki's was special, and no other places producted the same. 3) Each Mt. Ibuki has an area called Shimejigahara and similar Buddhist folk-tales.<br>It was Mt. Ibuki in Tochigi prefecture that first became popular for moxa. After that, the popularity moved to Mt. Ibuki in Shiga, in which Mountain Buddhism seems to have taken part. In the Edo era, Shiga-Ibuki was in full flourish, and Tochigi-Ibuki declined.

Studies of Moxa. (I) / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

“Moxa” has not been studied sufficiently. Something seems to remain still unknown in its history, its process, and its raw material. The purpose of this study is to clarify these points.<br>Method<br>The author visited the major producing districts of moxa to investigate the process of preparation, and examined the raw material “Yomogi” botanically.<br>The latest process of making moxa is outlined as follows: gathering Yomogi→drying→pulverizing with a rotating stone mill→premoving impurities through sieves→refining with an equipment called “tômi”.<br>A botanical study : In Niigata-, Toyama-, and Ishikawa-prefecture, the raw materials were identified mostly as common Yomogi (Artemisia princeps Pamp.), and partly as Ooyomogi (=Yamayomogi, A. montana Pamp.). All the materials used in Shiga-prefecture was supposed to be Yomogi (A. princeps Pamp.).