The Tradition and Genealogy of the Kampo Medicine / 日本東洋医学雑誌

ABSTRACT

Since 1883 (15th year of Meiji), the number of students desiring to study Kampo medicine gradually began to decline due to the fact that the Meiji government passed a series of new reforms requiring all practicing doctors to obtain an education in Western medicine. As a result, practitioners of Japanese traditional Kampo medicine could not get medical licenses, all but forcing them out of practice. These reforms followed the model set by the Japanese government in which a saturation in Western culture was encouraged at the expense of Japanese tradition. This tendency can be seen even to this day.<br>However, in his book “Kisso Shoei”, with the exception of surgery, Sohaku Asada notes many instances in internal medicine where better results were obtained with Kampo medicine than with Western medicine. In 1910 (Meiji 43), Keijuro Wada wrote a book entitled “Ikai no Tetsui”, which stressed the importance of Kampo medicine. This book revived interest in Kampo medicine. Dr. Kyushin Yumoto, after graduating from Kanazawa Medical School was so impressed by this book that he became a student of Dr. Wada, spending his entire life in the study and practice of Kampo medicine. In 1927 (Showa 2), after several years of research, he wrote the “Kokan Igaku” in three volumes. This was the first Kampo book in which a mixture of Western medical findings were used to interpret the “Shokanron” and “Kinkiyoryaku” using language familiar to current-day readers. Dr. Yumoto's “Kokan-Igaku” influenced not only the reconstruction of Kampo medicine in our country, but also assisted in the preservation of traditional Chinese medicine.<br>Although Kampo traditions were upheld by only a few traditional Kampo practitioners and doctors during the first part of the Showa age (1926-1930's), a mood favorable to the return of Kampo was gradually nurtured through various revival movements. By 1936 (Showa 11), new researchers in the Kampo field held the “Kaiko Gakuen Seminar” to promote Kampo, known as the “Takushoku University Kampo Seminar” the following year. This seminar was held eight times until 1944 (Showa 19) at three to four month intervals. In 1949 (Showa 24, after World War II), the 9th seminar was held for 15 days under the title of the “Koryo University Kampo Seminar”. In total more than 700 people were in attendance over the nine seminar period, including several people who would become key figures in the Kampo medical field. (The author, a medical student at the time, was also in attendance at this 9th seminar after the war.)<br>In 1941 (Showa 16; pre-war), ‘Kampo Shinryo no Jissai’ was published by Nanzando Publishing Company. This book listed the prescriptions of well-known Kampo formulas that were in current use for various disorders by the disease name. It was a step forward in that up until this point the “Sho” or “manifestation-type” the patient exhibited was traditionally used as the primary diagnostic basis for treatment. This was an outstanding commentary for its time. In 1954 (Showa 29) the revised addition was published, and in 1969 (Showa 44), the new edition, “Kampo Shinryo Iten” published by Nanzando was a completely revised version of “Kampo Shinryo no Jissai”. These books, by updating the descriptions of diseases to include the Western medical disease names, enabled physicians to apply these traditional formulas, thereby greatly expanding the modernday usage of Kampo extracts. They also exerted a considerable influence on present-day Kampo medicine.<br>The first edition of “Kampo shinryo no Jissai” was cowritten by Drs. Keisetsu Otsuka, Domei Yakazu, Chokyu Kimura and Totaro Shimizu. They were truly the core of the Takushoku University Seminar, and as instructors, were directly responsible for the revival of Kampo.<br>Dr. Chokyu Otsuka became the successor