Volume 4, Number 1 | Spring 2009

Medical History in Japan
Sotetsu Ishizaka’s “Shinkyu Chiyo Ichigen (1)Kenji Kobayashi
Guest researcher of Medical History Research Dept.
Kitazato University Oriental Medicine Research Center

Introduction
Sotetsu
Ishizaka(1770-1841)
wasa
representative acupuncture physician of the late
Edo period. Born in the City of Kofu in Yamanashi
prefecture, his original surname was Fujiwara
and his given name Naganori, his pseudonym
either Engyoku or Sotetsu, and his artist's name[Usai], or else Bunna. As court physician with thetitle of "Hogen" (title bestowed upon doctors, etc.)
he served the tenth shogun Ieharu and theeleventh shogun Ienari.
While he was emphasizing the Chinese classics,
he also showed a keen interest in Western sciences
and studied Western anatomy. Moreover, throughTullingh and Siebold he introduced Japanese
acupuncture and moxibustion introduced toEurope.
Healsowrote“(ShinkyuSetsuyaku)
Explanations of Acupuncture and Moxibustion”,“(Igen) Origin of Medicine”, “(Shinkyu Chiyo
Ichigen) Essential Knowledge about Acupunctureand Moxibustion in a Word”, “(Shinkyu Meiwa) A
discussion of Acupuncture and Moxibustion”,“(Kokkei) The Bone Classic”, “(Usai Sensei Mondo)
Questions and Answers of Master Usai” andothers.
Here I would like to introduce the work
“Essential Knowledge of Acupuncture andMoxibustion in a Word” which Sotetsu (then 56years old) wrote in response to a request hereceived during his time in Edo from the German
physician Siebold (1796-1866; then 30 years old),
who was in Nagasaki's Dejima during his stayfrom 1823 to 1828 in Japan and asked for ‘detailed
instructions in the practical application ofacupuncture and moxibustion techniques’. The
book is about the academic exchange achieved

when the author summarized the technicalessentials of Japanese acupuncture andmoxibustion and introduced them to Siebold, wholater visited the shogunate in Edo anddemonstrated acupuncture and moxibustion
techniques himself.
Since this book is written in Chinese characters
mixed with the Japanese Kana syllables,
comprehension of the document is very difficult formodern man and thus the author of this text
attempted to provide an explanatory translationof this reference material into modern language.
Here I would also like to briefly introduce sometechnicalities about Japanese acupuncture andmoxibustion employed about 180 years ago.
Further, I took the liberty of omitting anintroduction and epilogue.

[Figure 1] The young Siebold[Figure 2] Siebold

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Volume 4, Number 1 | Spring 2009

* Essential Knowledge in a Word (Chiyo Ichigen)
In February of spring 1822 (Bunsei year 5),
Europeans brought this as a tribute to Edo [Edoshogunate visit]1)
At that time I had the opportunity to meet aEuropean physician. The name of the doctor wasTullingh. Through a certain medical officer hesaid: “There is no treatment using thin needles inthe Netherlands. I would be much obliged, if you
could teach me the outlines of this technique.

post in Nagasaki went every four years to Edo for anaudience with the shogun and on this occasion
presented him numerous goods. This was a duty theshogunate imposed on the Dutch trading post, startingin 1609 and continued until the end of the shogunate.
The Dutch people were mainly joined by the head of theDutch trading post, his secretary and three physicians,
as well as security officials and interpreters plus some
additional laborers.
At the time of the shogunate visit in 1822 the head

I answered as follows.
“Both in the East and the West there are somethings that can only be understood throughteaching the actual practice. Even if language is
not understood, the direct teaching of the actual
application of the techniques cannot give you morethan a rough understanding. I will appeal to theofficer to obtain permission to take you later byhand and instruct you in the actual practice ofacupuncture and moxibustion.”
In response Tullingh said:“I believe a simple procedure will not be enoughfor your kind disclosure of an as yet unheard oftechnique. I think it will be difficult to obtain
permission to communicate this to the Dutch
physicians. And in case the officials should grantme this permission, it will be even more difficult.
If I miss this occasion I may possibly miss theopportunity to ask for instructions forever. Please,by all means, instruct me in the essentials.”
For this reason I entrusted the book (“ChiyoIchigen”), summarizing the essentials ofacupuncture and moxibustion techniques, into thecare of the Dutch interpreter (at the Nagasaki
magistrate’s office). Moreover, I had my disciples
perform some acupuncture and moxibustion
techniques directly in front of the Europeans.
**********************************************
1) At that time the head of the Dejima Dutch trading
20of the Dutch trading post was Jan Cock Blomhoff and

Tullingh was an accompanying physician.

**********************************************[Figure 3] “Chiyo Ichigen”, 1826
Further, since it would be very compromisingwhen the interpreter during his translation of
the book into Dutch made mistakes in the processof the transcription, I wrote down the essentials inan easily comprehensible language.
So, I said to him the following.
“I heard that it is the specialty of theNetherlands to perform dissections in order toobtain a detailed knowledge of the interior andexterior of the human body. For the performance

The Journal of Kampo, Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine (KAIM)

Volume 4, Number 1 | Spring 2009of needling technique a detailed knowledge of theinterior and exterior of the human body as well as
its functions is indispensible, or else you cannot
cure the diseases. Just vainly protecting tradition
is not helpful at all.
**********************************************
In 1823 Siebold came together with the head of theDutch trading post Sturler to Japan, and in 1826
accompanied him on his Edo shogunate visit asattending physician.

**********************************************- The way of the filiform needle started in ancient
China, living persons were measured with scales,
the site of the diseases uncovered and thedeceased dissected to examine the cause of thedisease.
1,500 years have passed since this medicine
was transmitted to Japan. The most ancientmethods were at some point lost both in China andin Japan and today only the methods of themedieval times remain.
I have intensively studied the Chinese classics
that were brought to Japan and therein found theancient needling method. Going back to an ancient
time in China at about 2,000 years ago, today’s
revival of the filiform needling technique is due tosolutions of doubts through European anatomicalbooks.
- There are many sites to insert needles into thehuman body, but generally speaking when thehuman body is affected by disease, you should
think about all the sites to be needled from head
to toe. If there is no disease, all needling should beprohibited.
For example, there is no place more important
than the pupil, but in case of pyophthalmia it toomay be needled. Thus, for this reason needlingdoes not need to be prohibited in any region where
there is disease.

[Figure 4] Nine needle chart, source: "Zhēn Jiǔ JíChéng" (1315) by Dù Sī Jìng of the Yuan dynasty[Figure 5] Nine needle chart, source: "Zhēn Jiǔ JíChéng" (1315) by Dù Sī Jìng of the Yuan dynasty

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