ritten nearly
a thousand years ago by Yasunori Tanba during Japan's Heian period (794-1185),
the "Ishimpo" is a medical compendium of rare value. The oldest
extant medical treatise in Japan, it has been designated as a National Treasure.
Now, thanks to a monumental effort, the entire 30-volume book is being published
in a modern Japanese translation for the first time for the use of scholars
and herbal medicine enthusiasts. The Ishimpo is based on some 200 medical works of Tang Dynasty China and contains detailed references to the original source materials. Since many of the original Chinese or Korean works have been long lost, these references are often the only traces of their existence in the distant past. For this reason, the Ishimpo is significant not only as the basis of the Kampo medicinal system that subsequently developed in Japan, but also as an invaluable historical record of the origins and growth of Oriental medicine in East Asia, including traditional Chinese and Korean medicine, from the ancient times up to the Middle Ages.
The massive work was presented to the Imperial Court of Japan in 984 A.D. About a hundred years prior to that, in 894 A.D., Japan had ceased sending envoys to the Tang Dynasty Court and had begun to focus on developing its own culture, incorporating in the process many elements of classical Chinese civilization. Just as the katakana and hiragana forms of the Japanese writing system developed out of Chinese pictographic characters, so did the Ishimpo indigenize the Chinese medicinal system in a uniquely Japanese way. While almost all of the entries in this medical tome are quotations from the Chinese and Korean literature of the time, the selections were carefully culled to fit Japan's national and cultural characteristics.
The Ishimpo is written in an ancient style of Chinese, mixed with an archaic Japanese Kana script derived from Chinese characters. All this makes for very abstruse reading. Not only the difficulty of deciphering the ancient text, but also the sheer size of the treatise had discouraged previous attempts to translate it into modern Japanese.
But that was before Ms. Sachiko Maki came on the scene. A researcher of classical Japanese literature of the Heian era and a lecturer at Tsukuba Technical College, Ms. Maki applied herself to the daunting task of translating and annotating the enormous work. After devoting 20 years to the project, she recently completed her translation.
The first volume introduces the principles of the medical profession, prescribes the care with which one must engage in consultation and treatment, gives admonitions about the preparation and taking of drugs, and provides a list of medicinal substances. Volume 2 covers acupuncture and moxibustion. Volumes 3 through 14 discuss various illnesses, ranging from general disorders treatable by internal medicine to diseases of the skin, ear, nose, mouth, teeth and limbs. Volumes 15 through 20 discuss diseases appropriate for surgical treatment and the handling of special medication. Volumes 21 through 24 cover gynecology and obstetrics. Volume 25 deals with pediatrics. The last five volumes, 26 through 30, provide guidelines for daily living, especially in matters of food, clothing and shelter. These precepts are based on the teachings of Taoism, which sets great store on a way of life in which the positive and the negative energies are in balance. In particular, the last volume, entitled "Dietary Cure," rates the efficacy and the hazards of 24 kinds of grains, 41 kinds of fruits, 45 kinds of meat and 52 kinds of vegetables.
After the translation was completed, the next challenge was to find a publisher. Not surprisingly, few publishers were willing to undertake publication of the entire work, each volume consisting of 300 to 500 pages. Fortunately, some benefactors came to the rescue, establishing a fund to meet publication costs. Finally, in March 1993, Chikuma Books of Tokyo agreed to print the work Even then, because the Ishimpo is considered highly specialized material, there was always the risk that the company might suspend publication if the books did not sell well. As it turned out, sales were better than anticipated and publication has continued smoothly at the rate of 2 or 3 volumes a year. With the publication of Volume No. 10 in October 1996, one-third of the entire opus is now finally in print.
Beginning in September 1997, the second batch of 10 volumes will start rolling off the presses. The publication of the entire series is now scheduled to be completed in seven years, or by around 2004, so that at the dawn of the 21st century, the wisdom of this ancient text will finally be accessible to the modern world.