Traditional Medicine in Japan
By the 7th century ¥ the influence of Chinese medicine had spread to Japan. At first
the texts of this imported product were meticulously followed, and drugs important in Chinese medicine but not grown in Japan were imported as well. The oldest known Japanese text on the subject, a 30-volume compendium, Ishinpo, written in the late 10th century, consists to a large extent of quotations from Chinese texts. In the 17th century, however, a "reformist" interpretation of Chinese medicine arose claiming that the only basis for medicine should be the Shanghang Lun as interpreted by Japanese authorities. This marked the beginning of Japan's own school of
traditional medicine. One of the great exponents of this school, Goto Konzan (1659-1733), stated that all disease was due to
stagnation of kiÑChinese qi (ch'i), literally meaning "air"Ñ but representing the vital force); therapy must therefore consist of removing this stagnation.
When the Portuguese landed in Japan in the 16th century, they introduced the European medicine of that period. Even during the period when Japan was virtually closed to the outside world, European anatomical texts, admired for their accuracy, had considerable influence, and the introduction (1824) of vaccination for smallpox convinced the Japanese government to undertake the encouragement of European medicine. Such training was required of a physician after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, and after 1883 a person could practice traditional medicine only after being qualified in this way. In spite of this, traditional medicine in its Chinese-Japanese amalgam continues to be a significant element in Japanese health care.