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, often known simply as , is the study of
traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...
in Japan following its introduction, beginning in the 7th century. It was adapted and modified to suit Japanese culture and traditions. Traditional Japanese medicine uses most of the Chinese methods, including
acupuncture Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience; the theories and practices of TCM are not based on scientifi ...
,
moxibustion Moxibustion () is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy which consists of burning dried mugwort ('' wikt:moxa'') on particular points on the body. It plays an important role in the traditional medical systems of China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, ...
, traditional Chinese herbology, and traditional food therapy.


History


Origins

According to Chinese
mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
, the origins of traditional Chinese medicine are traced back to the three legendary sovereigns
Fuxi Fuxi or Fu Hsi (伏羲 ~ 伏犧 ~ 伏戲) is a culture hero in Chinese legend and mythology, credited along with his sister and wife Nüwa with creating humanity and the invention of music, hunting, fishing, domestication, and cooking as well ...
,
Shennong Shennong (), variously translated as "Divine Farmer" or "Divine Husbandman", born Jiang Shinian (), was a mythological Chinese ruler known as the first Yan Emperor who has become a deity in Chinese and Vietnamese folk religion. He is venerat ...
and
Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...
. Shennong is believed to have tasted hundreds of herbs to ascertain their medicinal value and effects on the human body and help relieve people of their sufferings. The oldest written record focusing solely on the medicinal use of plants was the ''
Shennong Ben Cao Jing ''Shennong Bencaojing'' (also ''Classic of the Materia Medica'' or ''Shen-nong's Herbal Classics'' and ''Shen-nung Pen-tsao Ching''; ) is a Chinese book on agriculture and medicinal plants, traditionally attributed to Shennong. Researchers belie ...
'' which was compiled around the end of the first century B.C. and is said to have classified 365 species of herbs or medicinal plants. Chinese medical practices were introduced to Japan during the 6th century A.D. In 608,
Empress Suiko (554 – 15 April 628) was the 33rd monarch of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 推古天皇 (33)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Suiko reigned from 593 until her death in 628. In the history of Japan ...
dispatched E-Nichi, Fuku-In and other young physicians to China. It is said that they studied medicine there for 15 years. Until 838, Japan sent 19 missions to
Tang China The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...
. While the officials studied Chinese government structures, physicians and many of the Japanese monks absorbed Chinese medical knowledge.


Early Japanese adaptation

In 702 A.D., the
Taihō Code The was an administrative reorganisation enacted in 703 in Japan, at the end of the Asuka period. It was historically one of the . It was compiled at the direction of Prince Osakabe, Fujiwara no Fuhito and Awata no Mahito. Nussbaum, Louis-Fr ...
was promulgated as an adaptation of the governmental system of China's Tang Dynasty. One section called for the establishment of a university (''daigaku'') including a medical school with an elaborate training program, but due to incessant civil war this program never became effective.
Empress Kōmyō (701 – 23 July 760), born Fujiwara Asukabehime (藤原 安宿媛), was the consort of Japanese Emperor Shōmu (701–756) during the Nara Period.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan,'' pp. 57-58. Life A member of th ...
(701–760) established the ''Hidenin'' and ''Seyakuin'' in the Kōfuku-Temple (
Kōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples in the city of Nara, Japan. The temple is the national headquarters of the Hossō school. History Kōfuku-ji has its origin as a temple that was established in 669 b ...
) in
Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...
, being two Buddhist institutions that provided free healthcare and medicine for the needy. For centuries to come Japanese Buddhist monks were essential in conveying Chinese medical know-how to Japan and in providing health care for both the elite and the general population. In 753 A.D., the Chinese priest
Jianzhen Jianzhen (; 688–763), or Ganjin in Japanese, was a Chinese monk who helped to propagate Buddhism in Japan. In the eleven years from 743 to 754, Jianzhen attempted to visit Japan some six times. Ganjin finally came to Japan in the year 753 and ...
(in Japanese Ganjin), who was well-versed in medicine, arrived in Japan after five failed attempts in 12 years to cross the
East China Sea The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly . The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated b ...
. As he was blind, he used his sense of smell to identify herbs. He brought medical texts and a large collection of materia medica to the imperial palace in Nara, which he dedicated to the
Emperor Shōmu was the 45th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 聖武天皇 (45)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Shōmu's reign spanned the years 724 through 749, during the Nara period. Traditional narrative ...
in 756, 49 days after the emperor's death. They are kept in a log-cabin-style treasure house of the Tōdai-Temple (
Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Nanto Shichi Daiji, Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Nara, Nara, Japan. Though it was originally founded in the year 738 CE, Tōdai-ji was not opened until the year ...
) known as
Shōsōin The is the treasure house of Tōdai-ji Temple in Nara, Japan. The building is in the ''azekura'' ( log-cabin) style with a raised floor. It lies to the northwest of the Great Buddha Hall. The Shōsō-in houses artifacts connected to Emperor Shō ...
. In 787 A.D., the "Newly Revised Materia Medica" (''Xinxiu Bencao'', 659 A.D.), which had been sponsored by the Tang Imperial Court, became an obligatory text in the study of medicine at the Japanese Health Ministry, but many of the 844 medicinal substances described in this book were not available in Japan at the time. Around 918 A.D., a Japanese medical dictionary entitled "Japanese names of (Chinese) Materia Medica" (''Honzō-wamyō'') was compiled, quoting from 60 Chinese medical works. During the
Heian Period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...
, Tanba Yasuyori (912–995) compiled the first Japanese medical book,
Ishinpō is the oldest surviving Japanese medical text. It was completed in 984 by Tamba Yasuyori (also referred in some sources as Tanba no Yasuyori) and is 30 volumes in length. The work is partly based on a traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese medica ...
("Prescriptions from the Heart of Medicine"), drawing from numerous Chinese texts, some of which have perished later. During the period from 1200 to 1600, medicine in Japan became more practical. Most of the physicians were Buddhist monks who continued to use the formulas, theories and practices that had been introduced by the early envoys from Tang China.


Early revision

During the 15th and 16th centuries, Japanese physicians began to achieve a more independent view on Chinese medicine. After 12 years of studies in China
Tashiro Sanki was a Japanese doctor of ''kampo , often known simply as , is the study of traditional Chinese medicine in Japan following its introduction, beginning in the 7th century. It was adapted and modified to suit Japanese culture and tradition ...
(1465–1537) became the leading figure of a movement called "Followers of Later Developments in Medicine" (''Gosei-ha''). This school propagated the teachings of Li Dongyuan and Zhu Tanxi that gradually superseded the older doctrines from the
Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
. Manase Dōsan, one of his disciples, adapted Tashiro's teachings to Japanese conditions. Based on his own observation and experience, he compiled a book on internal medicine in eight volumes (''Keiteki-shū'') and established an influential private medical school (''Keiteki-in'') in Kyōto. His son Gensaku wrote a book of case studies (''Igaku tenshō-ki'') and developed a considerable number of new herb formulas. From the second half of the 17th century, a new movement, the "Followers of Classic Methods" (''Kohō-ha''), evolved, which emphasized the teachings and formulas of the Chinese classic "Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders" (''
Shanghan Lun The ''Shanghan Lun'' (; variously known in English as the ''Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases','' ''Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders'' or the ''Treatise on Cold Injury'') is a part of ''Shanghan Zabing Lun'' (. It is a Traditional Chinese medi ...
'', in Japanese ''Shōkan-ron''). While the etiological concepts of this school were as speculative as those of the ''Gosei-ha'', the therapeutic approaches were based on empirical observations and practical experience. This return to "classic methods" was initiated by Nagoya Gen'i (1628–1696), and advocated by influential proponents such as Gotō Gonzan (1659–1733), Yamawaki Tōyō (1705–1762), and Yoshimasu Tōdō (1702–1773). Yoshimasu is considered to be the most influential figure. He accepted any effective technique, regardless of its particular philosophical background. Yoshimasu's abdominal diagnostics are commonly credited with differentiating early modern traditional Japanese medicine from
Traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...
(TCM). During the later part of the Edo period, many Japanese practitioners began to utilize elements of both schools. Some, such as Ogino Gengai (1737–1806), Ishizaka Sōtetsu (1770–1841), or Honma Sōken (1804–1872), even tried to incorporate Western concepts and therapies, which had made their way into the country through physicians at the Dutch trading-post
Dejima , in the 17th century also called Tsukishima ( 築島, "built island"), was an artificial island off Nagasaki, Japan that served as a trading post for the Portuguese (1570–1639) and subsequently the Dutch (1641–1854). For 220 years, i ...
(
Nagasaki is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in the ...
). Although Western medicine gained some ground in the field of
surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...
, there was not much competition between "Eastern" and "Western" schools until the 19th century, because even adherents of "Dutch-Studies" (
Rangaku ''Rangaku'' (Kyūjitai: /Shinjitai: , literally "Dutch learning", and by extension "Western learning") is a body of knowledge developed by Japan through its contacts with the Dutch enclave of Dejima, which allowed Japan to keep abreast of Wester ...
) were very eclectic in their actual practice. Traditional medicine never lost its popularity throughout the Edo period, but it entered a period of rapid decline shortly after the
Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
. In 1871, the new government decided to modernize medical education based on the German medical system. Starting in 1875, new medical examinations focused on natural sciences and Western medical disciplines. In October 1883, a law retracted the licenses of any existing traditional practitioner. Despite losing legal standing, a small number of traditional physicians continued to practice privately. Some of them, such as Yamada Gyōkō (1808–1881), Asada Sōhaku (1813–1894), and Mori Risshi (1807–1885), organized an "Association to Preserve raditionalKnowledge" (''Onchi-sha'') and started to set up small hospitals. However, by 1887, the organization was disbanded due to internal policy dissent and the death of leading figures. The "Imperial Medical Association" (''Teikoku Ikai''), founded in 1894, was short-lived too. In 1895, the 8th National Assembly of the Diet vetoed a request to continue the practice of Kampō. When Azai Kokkan (1848–1903), one of the main activists, died, the Kampō movement was almost stamped out.


Era of Western influence

Any further attempt to save traditional practices had to take into account Western concepts and therapies. Therefore, it was graduates from medical faculties, trained in Western medicine, who began to set out to revive traditional practices. In 1910, Wada Keijūrō (1872–1916) published "The Iron Hammer of the Medical World" (''Ikai no tettsui''). Yumoto Kyūshin (1876–1942), a graduate from Kanazawa Medical School, was so impressed by this book that he became a student of Dr. Wada. His "Japanese-Chinese Medicine" (''Kōkan igaku''), published in 1927, was the first book on Kampō medicine in which Western medical findings were used to interpret classical Chinese texts. In 1927, Nakayama Tadanao (1895–1957) presented his "New Research on Kampō-Medicine" (''Kampō-igaku no shin kenkyū''). Another "convert" was Ōtsuka Keisetsu (1900–1980), who became one of the most famous Kampō practitioners of the 20th century. This gradual revival was supported by the modernization of the dosage form of herbal medicine. During the 1920s, the Nagakura Pharmaceutical Company in Osaka began developing dried decoctions in a granular form. At about the same time, Tsumura Juntendō, a company founded by Tsumura Jūsha (1871–1941) in 1893, established a research institute to promote the development of standardized Kampō medicine. Gradually, these "Japanese-Chinese remedies" (''wakan-yaku'') became a standard method of Kampō medicine administration. In 1937, new researchers such as Yakazu Dōmei (1905–2002) started to promote Kampō at the so-called "
Takushoku University Takushoku University (拓殖 大学; ''Takushoku Daigaku'', abbreviated as 拓大 ''Takudai'') is a private university in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1900 by Duke Taro Katsura (1848–1913).
Kampo Seminar". More than 700 people attended these seminars that continued after the war. In 1938, following a proposal of Yakazu, the "Asia Medicine Association" was established. In 1941, Takeyama Shinichirō published his "Theories on the Restoration of Kampō Medicine" (''Kampō-ijutsu fukkō no riron'', 1941). In that same year, Yakazu, Ōtsuka, Kimura Nagahisa, and Shimizu Fujitarō (1886–1976) completed a book entitled "The Actual Practice of Kampō Medicine" (''Kampō shinryō no jissai''). By including Western medical disease names he greatly expanded the usage of Kampō formulas. A new version of this influential manual was printed in 1954. This book was also translated into Chinese. A completely revised version was published in 1969 under the title "Medical Dictionary of Kampō Practice" (''Kampō Shinryō Iten''). In 1950, Ōtsuka Keisetsu, Yakazu Dōmei, Hosono Shirō (1899–1989), Okuda Kenzō (1884–1961), and other leaders of the pre- and postwar Kampō revival movement established the "Japan Society for Oriental Medicine" (''Nippon Tōyō Igakkai'') with 89 members (2014: more than 9000 members). In 1960, raw materials for crude drugs listed in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia (''Nippon Yakkyoku-hō'') received official drug prices under the National Health Insurance (NHI, ''Kokumin kenkō hoken'').


Approved Kampō medicines

Today in Japan, Kampō is integrated into the Japanese national health care system. In 1967, the
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare The is a cabinet level ministry of the Japanese government. It is commonly known as in Japan. The ministry provides services on health, labour and welfare. It was formed with the merger of the former Ministry of Health and Welfare or and the ...
approved four Kampō medicines for reimbursement under the National Health Insurance (NHI) program. In 1976, 82 kampo medicines were approved by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. This number has increased to 148 Kampo formulation extracts, 241 crude drugs, and 5 crude drug preparations. Rather than modifying formulae as in
Traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...
, the Japanese Kampō tradition uses fixed combinations of herbs in standardized proportions according to the classical literature of Chinese medicine. Kampō medicines are produced by various manufacturers. However, each medicine is composed of exactly the same ingredients under the Ministry's standardization methodology. The medicines are therefore prepared under strict manufacturing conditions that rival pharmaceutical companies. In October 2000, a nationwide study reported that 72% of registered
physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
s prescribe Kampō medicines. New Kampō medicines are being evaluated using modern techniques to evaluate their mechanism of action .


Herbs

The 14th edition of the ''Japanese Pharmacopoeia'' (JP, ''Nihon yakkyokuhō'') lists 165 herbal ingredients that are used in Kampō medicines. Lots of the Kampō products are routinely tested for heavy metals, purity, and microbial content to eliminate any contamination. Kampō medicines are tested for the levels of key chemical constituents as markers for quality control on every formula. This is carried out from the blending of the raw herbs to the end product according to the Ministry's pharmaceutical standards.
Medicinal mushrooms Medicinal fungi are fungi that contain metabolites or can be induced to produce metabolites through biotechnology to develop prescription drugs. Compounds successfully developed into drugs or under research include antibiotics, anti-cancer drugs, ...
like Reishi and
Shiitake The shiitake (alternate form shitake) (; ''Lentinula edodes'') is an edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is now cultivated and consumed around the globe. It is considered a Medicinal fungi, medicinal mushroom in some forms of tradition ...
are herbal products with a long history of use. In Japan, the ''
Agaricus blazei ''Agaricus subrufescens'' ( syn. ''Agaricus blazei'', ''Agaricus brasiliensis'' or ''Agaricus rufotegulis'') is a species of mushroom, commonly known as almond mushroom, mushroom of the sun, God's mushroom, mushroom of life, royal sun agaricus, ' ...
'' mushroom is a highly popular herb, which is used by close to 500,000 people. In Japan, ''Agaricus blazei'' is also the most popular herb used by cancer patients. The second most used herb is an isolate from the Shiitake mushroom, known as Active Hexose Correlated Compound.


Outside Japan

In the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, Kampō is practiced mostly by acupuncturists, Chinese medicine practitioners, naturopath physicians, and other
alternative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...
professionals. Kampō herbal formulae are studied under clinical trials, such as the clinical study of Honso Sho-saiko-to (H09) for treatment of hepatitis C at the New York Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and liver cirrhosis caused by hepatitis C at the UCSD Liver Center.
Both clinical trials are sponsored by Honso USA, Inc., a branch of Honso Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Nagoya, Japan.


See also

* Chinese classic herbal formula * Doumei Yakazu *
List of branches of alternative medicine This is a list of articles covering alternative medicine topics. A * Activated charcoal cleanse * Acupressure * Acupuncture * Affirmative prayer * Alexander technique * Alternative cancer treatments * Animal-Assisted Therapy * Anthroposo ...
*
Jin Shin Do Jin Shin Do ("The Way of the Compassionate Spirit") is a therapeutic acupressure technique developed by psychotherapist Iona Marsaa Teeguarden, beginning in the 1970s. Jin Shin Do classes teach the use of gentle yet deep finger pressure on specif ...
*
Johrei Johrei , spelled ''jyorei'' by Shumei groups'','' is a type of energy healing, It that was introduced in Japan in the 1930s by Mokichi Okada, (AKA Meishu-Sama). Practitioners channel light towards patients by holding up the palm of the hands to ...
*
Kappo are healing techniques that often involve stimulation of specific acupuncture points. Kappo is commonly used in martial arts such as Danzan Ryu and Judo. ''Kappo'' contains two kanji: ''katsu'' ( 活 “resuscitation, life”) and ''ho'' ( 法 ...


References


External links


International Society for Japanese Kampo Medicine


* {{Authority control *