KAIM
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Meeddiicciinnee
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,
BERKELEY
Volume 13, Number 1 ･ Spring 2018

Editorial

Kampo Medicine and Clinical Pearls
Hiromichi Yasui

Report from WFAS Tokyo/Tsukuba 2016
Shakuju Treatment
Shakuju Association

Kampo Medicine – Current Research

The Traditional Herbal Medicine Boiogito (Fang-Yi-Hung-Qi-Tang) Slows Postprandial Oxidation of Ingested Glucose Only in Women
Koichiro Tanaka, Hiroshi Uchino, Kazuhiko Nara, Yoshifumi Irie, Takahisa Hirose and Yoshihisa Urita

Clinical Report (Acupuncture)

Two Cases of Low Back Pain / Sciatica Improved by Meridian Therapy
Michihiro Baba

Conference Report

Interpretation for Dr. Hempen in Kanazawa and our Activities in JTAMSJTAMS International Department Translation Team

ISSN:1559-033X

College Logos
We believe it is necessary to create a new way of thinking
for the total understanding of "Life, Survival, and Health".
We decided to coin the world "Lifence" to express this.
Lifence means the combination of life sceince and medicine
as well as other disciplines such as health science, psychology,
ethics, etc.
Our college logos symbolizes the above.
The ripple effect represents the ocean and the birth of life.
The rainbow colored sphere represents a safe environment
and a barrier to protect us from negative influences.
The picture by Leonardo da Vinch represents a balanced
body and health.
Completing our logos is a ring which represents the unity ofspace fulfilling the total meanings of lifence.

―

The Journal of
Kampo, Acupuncture andIntegrative Medicine(KAIM)
Research on Theory, Practice and Integration

Volume 13, Number 1 ･ Spring 2018EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Shuji Goto
Chairman, GOTO College ofMedical Arts & Sciences

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Tokyo, JapanEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Donald Lauda, Ph.D.
Dean Emeritus, College of Health &Human Services
California State University-Long Beach

1 Editorial
Kampo Medicine and Clinical Pearls
Hiromichi Yasui

CA, U.S.A.

ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Shuichi Katai

2 Report from WFAS Tokyo/Tsukuba 2016
Shakuju Treatment

Ibaraki-ken, Japan

Shakuju Association

Hiromichi Yasui
Tokyo, JapanEDITORIAL STAFF

Akihiro Souma
Hiromi Sasaki
Hiroshi Tsukayama
Hitoshi Yamashita
Junko Okubo
Kazunari Ozaki
Kengo Nakata
Masayuki Kashima
Naoya Ono
Noboru Mitsuhata
Sayaka Toda
Takao Namiki
Toshiaki Makino
Toshihiro Togo

PUBLISHER

Shuji Goto
International Institute of Health andHuman Services, Berkeley
2550 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley
California 94704-2724, U.S.A.

9 Kampo Medicine – Current Research
The Traditional Herbal Medicine Boiogito (Fang-Yi-Huang-Qi-Tang) Slows Postprandial
Oxidation of Ingested Glucose Only in Women
Koichiro Tanaka, Hiroshi Uchino, Kazuhiko Nara, Yoshifumi Irie,
Takahisa Hirose and Yoshihisa Urita

14 Clinical Report (Acupuncture)
Two Cases of Low Back Pain / Sciatica Improved by Meridian Therapy
Michihiro Baba

17 Conference Report
Interpretation for Dr. Hempen in Kanazawa and our Activities in JTAMSJTAMS International Departement Translation TeamMISSIONTo disseminate peer-reviewed information on the use of acupuncture and herbs, and integration with western
medicine, based on research from an international perspective; thereby stimulating further research, applicationof documented therapeutic measures; and facilitating dialogue among health care practitioners worldwide.

The Journal of Kampo, Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine (KAIM)KOTARO PHARMACEUTICAL introduced in 1957 the world's first Kampo extract
preparations on the market. Later, in 1967, six of our preparations could be covered in Japanfor the first time by the health insurance and after 1976 more than 100 of our preparations
were used in hospitals and clinics. Now it is half a century since we put our Kampo extract
preparations on the market and believe, we made a major contribution to this industry.
In the future we intend to continue working in accordance with our company motto: "Still better
Kampo for still more people" and provide pharmaceutical products of still higher quality.

Origin of the company's name
The company was named "KOTARO" by its
founder Taro Ueda with reference to his birthplace. Close to the ancient city of Nara. Kotaro
is the name of an enormous sheer cliff, 700 m
wide and about 200 m high. Mr. Ueda felt anaffection rising to the heavens for this cliff andthus made it the company's name.

KOTARO PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.
5-23 Nakatsu 2-Chome, Kita-ku, Osaka 531-0071, JAPANURL: http://www.kotaro.co.jp

Volume 13, Number 1 | Spring 2018

Editorial
Kampo Medicine and Clinical Pearls
Medicine of the Ming Dynasty, introduced from China to Japan in the mid 16th century, was themainstream of Japanese medicine for about 200 years thereafter. However, just after its introduction,
many doctors created their own Clinical Pearls and applied them for diagnosis and treatment, whereby
this medicine gradually began to "Japanize" and subsequent Kampo doctors adopted it. Clinical Pearls of
this era were mainly made to understand TCM theory.
When Todo Yoshimasu (1702-1773) appeared in the 18th century, that situation changed completely.
He denied the diagnostic treatment system which had used the TCM theory up until that point, anddevised a new system which emphasized the indication of prescription.
He diagnosed without using traditional theory and prescribed without using traditional
pharmacology. In his case report collection, traditional theory is not seen, only symptoms andprescriptions are noted. So, what were his treatments based on? What he emphasized most was
abdominal diagnosis. It is also difficult to understand how he prescribed treatments based on what
he wrote.
From many anecdotes, it is clear that he was a very good physician. However, there is no evidence of
him using System 2 represented by the TCM theory at all. His clinical reasoning seems to consist almost
entirely of system 1 from our present viewpoint.
The people of the generation after Yoshimasu could not understand his system 1 background. So
what they did was carefully observe the items necessary for clinical practice, create a useful Clinical Pearl,and then give prescriptions based on that content. As a result, from the late eighteenth century to the mid
nineteenth century, many Kampo Doctors created a tremendous number of Clinical Pearls.
These Clinical Pearls were studied during the Kampo reconstruction period of the 1930's, and they
became the basis of modern Chinese medicine. The research of Clinical Pearl's is indispensable forunderstanding Japanese herbal medicine. This is because they are the background of System 1.

Hiromichi Yasui
Japan Institute of TCM Research

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

1

Volume 13, Number 1 | Spring 2018

Report from WFAS Tokyo/Tsukuba 2016
Shakuju Treatment
Shakuju Association[The birth of Shakuju treatment]
Shakujutreatmentisanacupunctureandmoxibustion treatment method formulated in 1976
by Shoji Kobayashi. Originally Mr. Kobayashi
performed

Introduction
In regard to "Shakuju" treatment all diseases are
viewed as a "decrease in vital energy" as the singularsource of all diseases, where the acupuncture andmoxibustion treatment is administered for thehisacupunctureandmoxibustion

treatment based on pulse diagnosis, but later started
to harbor doubts about the theory and practice andthus developed his own original acupuncture andmoxibustion treatment style.

purpose of recovery. The degree of this decrease in

At that time he served as a lecturer at the Kanto

vital energy is assessed mainly on the basis of the

Acupuncture and Moxibution Vocational School in

palpation of abdominal masses and the backcharge of practical skills. During practical training

transport points are then used to promote thesessions dealing with pulse diagnosis is inevitable,

recovery. The treatment procedure using just one

but very little objective training material was

needle without retaining it, relies on the maximal

available for the purpose of practical training among

application of the therapists consciousness tothe students and since the acquisition of the relevant

achieve optimal recovery.

practical skills required much time, he started
looking for something that might serve as areplacement. Practical training requires somethingthat can easily be employed among the students, bebased on the theories pertaining to qi and yin-yang,
not being perturbed by age, sex or pathology, isapplicable to all patients and helps the students toestablish themselves after graduation as clinicians.
In this situation he focused on abdominal diagnosis.
So far assessment of anomalies of the channels(deficiency – excess), pulse diagnosis and theimplementation of the rules laid out in the difficult
issue No. 69 had formed the basis of channel
treatment. Kobayashi himself noted, that the backtransport point could be grouped and classified in a
5-phase manner. The abdominal diagnosis according
to the 5-phase theory allowed to group abdominal
masses into five regions and assess them accordingly,
so that the 5-phase findings of the abdomen and the5-phase regions of the back can be applied to the useof the back transport points, leading to the discovery
that this will improve the condition of the abdominal
masses and chief complaints and therefore wasformulated as a therapeutic system. Later, this cameto be known as Shakuju treatment (abdominal
aggregation treatment). The Shakuju treatment was

2

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

Volume 13, Number 1 | Spring 2018

developed in 1980 at the Kanto Acupuncture andMoxibution Vocational School by the independent
study group "Hikobae (sprout) Shinryo Kai", later in1986 renamed into "Acupuncture and Moxibustion
Shakuju Kai" and finally into 1988 "Shakuju Kai",
which since then continues until today to improve
the techniques and promote awareness of the
Shakuju treatment.
The term "Shakuju" used in the name Shakuju
treatment originates from the Difficult Issues Nos.

[Shakuju treatment (basic treatment) procedure]
Restricting the description only to the treatment(needling) shows the following sequence.
Procedure of the basic treatment
1

Abdominal non-penetrating acupuncture2

Pulse adjustment

3

Abdominal diagnosis

4

Treatment using back transport points

5

Treatment of the shoulders

16, 55 and 56. Shakuju refers to abdominal
anomalies that are divided into easily movable,superficially located "Ju" and fixed deep "Shaku"
types of abdominal masses, but the Difficult Issues(Nan Jing) does not describe ways of curing(treatment)

theseanomalies.

Here

Kobayashi

defined a way of distinguishing Shaku and Ju basedon his personal clinical experiences. Performance of
non-penetrating needling over the entire abdomenbrings about changes in these Shakuju phenomena
and the use of command points on arms and legs
selected based on pulse diagnosis then gave him theactual feeling of changes occurring in these Shakuju.
He then went on and defined those abdominal
anomalies
penetrating

alleviated

by

the

acupuncture

abdominal
and

non-

subsequentadjustment of the pulse as Ju, while remaining
anomalies were termed Shaku. Moreover, since thetreatment

startswith

mildstimulation

andgradually processes towards stronger stimuli, theburden on the patient is low and at the same time it
became clear, that the proceeding from superficial
stimulation of the body towards deeper levels in thisorder (skin and hair → blood vessels → muscle flesh→ sinews → bones) achieves better results. This led
to the establishment of a treatment routine
comprising of pulse adjustment of the pulse the nonpenetrating needling of the abdomen and then usingback transport points depending on the condition of
the remaining Shaku in the abdomen.

(1) Abdominal non-penetrating acupuncture
Abdominal non-penetrating acupuncture refers togetting an impression of the abdominal surface andperforming non-penetrating acupuncture over theentire area. Regarding the needle handling the
moment the thumb and index finger of the pressing
hand and the tip of the needle held by the needling
hand come into contact with the abdominal surface
the typical shape of the pressing hand is formed andthus the needle tip brought into contact with theabdomen. After the contact is made apply some soft
palpation with the index finger of the pressing hand(which is referred to in the Plain Questions (Su Wen)inthechapter

about

open

and

closedsupplementation and drainage as a reinforcing
technique). As described above this movement does
not bother about acupoints, but makes contact
randomly. Make sure to keep a coin-sized space
between the contact locations. Once you get used tothe procedure, it becomes possible to successively
make contact at sites of anomalies (the presence oftension, weakness, feeling of warmth or cold, skingloss etc.) based on the sensation of the pressing andneedling hand.
(2) Pulse adjustment
LU9 or PC7 are used to adjust the pulse.
Originally, deficiency and excess of the organs andviscera is assessed by using the three bilateral radialpulses for pulse diagnosis and then the five phase
points of arms and legs are selected based on the

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

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Volume 13, Number 1 | Spring 2018

principles given in issue No. 69 of the Difficult Issues.
After that it is possible to rely solely on the source
points based on experience. Today we know, that thetwo points LU9 (meeting point of the vessels of theeight confluence points) and the source point PC7 of
the pericard channel can regulate the pulse. Whenusing the left and right cun position over the radial

Types of Shaku
Painful masses (subjective pain > pain foundduring abdominal diagnosis)
Firm masses (hardness found during abdominal
diagnosis)
Pulsating masses (pulsation found during
abdominal diagnosis)

artery for up to two deficiency and excess conditions
the two LU9 points are sufficient, but in case of morethan three such conditions, they are dealt with using
PC7.

Among the above listed items painful masses havethe highest priority and the region of the mostnotable pain determines the type of mass (liver mass,(3) Abdominal diagnosis (determination of Shaku)

heart mass, spleen mass, lung mass, kidney mass).

For the abdominal diagnosis we use the distribution(4) Treatment using the back transport pointsof the five organs according to the Difficult Issues,
but since the Difficult Issues do not provide anelaboration

of

that

distribution,

Kobayashi

repeatedly made his own experiments and thus
clarified the various regions of the abdomen whilereferring to the course of the channels and locationsof the acupoints.

The type of mass (liver mass, heart mass, spleenmass, lung mass, kidney mass) determines the usedback transport points. Kobayashi discovered that thearrangement of the back transport points can bedivided into five regions similar to the distribution of
the five organs on the abdomen.

In the Nan Jing the Shakuju are classified based on
pain, hardness and pulsation into three groups,
where anomalies can be discerned by abdominal

Since the arrangement of the five organs in the

diagnostic palpation as well as by the patient

abdomen can be used in a 5-phase based manner, thesubjectively.

principles given in the Difficult Issue No. 69 of the
Nan Jing (in case of deficiency reinforce the mother)can be applied. For example, if the abdominal
diagnosis reveals a spleen mass and because the4

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

Volume 13, Number 1 | Spring 2018spleen is associated among the five phases withshoulders are palpated on left and right, the mostearth, points in the fire region of the back transporttense spots (indurations) determined and thepoints corresponding to the mother function for the

relevant point selected symmetrically on the

spleen and earth points because the spleen itself

opposite side. For example, when tension can bebeing the earth phase among the five phases are

confirmed at right GB21, the left GB21 is needled.

selected. Since fire and earth are restrained by water

However, the point selection is not restricted to

and wood (they have a restraining correlation),

acupoints.

points from these regions are also selected. A total of
4 points in the order of fire → earth → water → wood
are thus selected.

The above described steps from (1) to (5) are calledbasic treatment and are essentially used for all
patients. A single filiform needle is used for thetreatment and subsequently based on observationsof physical changes following the restoration of thedecreased vital energy one proceeds to the next step.
Accordingly, needle retention is not used. The usedneedles are silver needles with a length of 40 mm
and a thickness of 0.20 mm, having an egg-shaped
needle tip. When needling while checking forphysical changes, these are shaped, are of a material
and thickness that makes insertion and handling

The back transport points are located along theeasier than the usual filiform needles.

governing vessel, immediately next to mid-line, firstline of the bladder channel and second line of the

Ideally the basic treatment restores the decreased

bladder channel, but the Shakuju treatment focuses

vital energy, but in cases where depending on themainly on the second line of the bladder channel andskills of the practitioner or the degree to which theselects one point each on this second line of thevital energy had been decreased, recovery was

bladder channel for each of the four regions

insufficient,

depending on the type of mass. For example, in theadministered. As a supplementary treatments like

presence of a spleen mass, BL44 (fire) → BL49

micropuncturing to led blood at sites of wounds(earth) → BL52 (water) → BL47 (wood) will be foundcausing the decrease in vital energy etc. are used, as

upon palpation along the second line of the bladderthe name already implies, to supplement the basic

channel to be the most depressed locations in thetreatment in order to promote the recovery of therespective regions.

decreased vital energy. Representative examples ofasupplementarytreatment

issupplementary treatment are the use of filiform(5) Treatment of the shoulder region

needles, blunt tip needles, heat sensing moxibustion

After completing the treatment of the back transportor heat penetrating moxibustion at the backpoints, depending on complaints and type of mass
and after checking the pulse, the patient is seatedand needled from the back up to the top of theshoulder region. For the point selection the top of thetransport points and those located along thegoverning vessel, immediately next to mid-line, firstline of the bladder channel and second line of the
bladder channel.

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

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Volume 13, Number 1 | Spring 2018

develop into (2) or (3) and then lead to (4). The degree[Degree of the decrease in vital energy]
It is very important to understand the degree ofthe reduction of the vital energy which is the central
and all encompassing cause of all diseases in orderto achieve also a central and all holistic restorationof the decreased vital energy through the Shakuju
treatment. All information obtained through thefour diagnostic methods are important indiceshelping to understand the degree of the reduction invital energy, but apart from this information fromthe four diagnostic methods Kobayashi discovered
based on his clinical experience another index called
the K-points (Kobayashi point). The K-points appear
like the Shakuju in the abdomen in people withdecreased vital energy as tender or hardened
reactive spots. Their locations are designated using
acupoint or anatomical names. They are called
points, but depending on the condition may beanything from rice grain to coin sized.

of the decrease in vital energy too progresses from
(1) and is worst at stage (4).
[Types of order for the use of back transport points]
The back transport points are used depending on
the location of the mass following the principles
described in the Difficult Issue No. 69, but on one day
performing

theShakujutreatment Kobayashi

noticed during the treatment of a patient with atumor that the treatment did not achieve sufficient
improvement. He tried to implement all the things
he could think of, starting with the time for thetreatment, yet still was not able to achieve
improvements. At one time he intuitively reversed
the order in which the back transport points are used(for example in case of a spleen mass the usual orderwould be fire → earth → water → wood, the reversalof which would be wood → water → earth → fire).
Using this he started to achieve improvements evenin cases in which so far no changes had been

Introducing some K-points

observed. Based on this experience he discovered theSP9, LR12, LR8, medial epicondyle of femur,

use of the back transport points in the reverse order

BL40, BL39, BL54, BL52, medial edge of theforscapula,process,

characterized by marked excess symptoms whensternocleidomastoidoid muscle, posterior edge ofviewed from a perspective of the deficiency-excess

the ramus of the mandible

pair. Later, through additional examinations heshoulderjoint,

coracoidthetreatmentofconditions

that

are

started to employ four types of application sequences.
The degree of the decrease in vital energy can be

Currently, these four treatment orders contribute toexpressed in four stages depending on the chief

improvements in treatment efficacy related to thecomplaint, information from the four diagnostic

degree of decreased vital energy.

methods and the emergence of K-points.
1. Appearance associated with chilling of the lower
half of the body
2. Appearance associated with body surface heat of
the upper half of the body
3. Appearance associated with chilling or heatinside the body
4. Appearance associated with chilling of the entire
body
Among the aforementioned 4 points there is atendency that things appear as described and (1),6[Regarding treatment and consciousness]
The efficacy of acupuncture and moxibustion
treatment varies depending on the skills of thepractitioner, but in case of Shakuju treatment weexperienced that the kind of awareness of thepractitioner during the treatment also has asignificant influence on the treatment effects. The
practitioner should be aware of the body of thepatient during the treatment. For example, in caseof a patient complaining about gonalgia the

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

Volume 13, Number 1 | Spring 2018

practitioner should direct her/his gaze towards theexcess (yin-yang) which then clarifies the theoretic

knee while treating the back transport points. On

foundation centering on a unified awareness of this

this occasion s/he does not only look, but rather

supreme ultimate concept. This concept deals withimagine the structure of the knee joint in her/his

life force and its decrease. Kobayashi has so far used

mind, as if s/he is looking right through it.

a variety of unified expressions for the essentials of

The practitioner should also occasionally touch

the Shakuju treatment. The first book by Kobayashi

the knee and its surroundings. In this way s/he canpublished in 1987 about the Shakuju treatment

make her/himself aware of the knee.

"Lectures About Oriental Medicine, Vol. 10, Shakuju

Once the practitioner gets used to the above

Treatment

Compilation"(ShizenSha)

already

described way of directing her/his awareness, s/heallowed the reader to gain some glimpses into thewill also become aware of the own body and thus betheory, but now this theory has been elaborated andable to channel qi energy through the own hands

clarified in the "Shakuju treatment – Move qi andtowards the patient. Ultimately, the practitioner

alleviate cold" published in 2001 (Idononippon Sha).

absorbs heavenly qi into her/his own body andIn the "Huang Di Nei Jing", the classic can be called

becomes able to direct the flow of this qi energy

thetowards the patient.

medicine, the character combination 'yin-yang' isOnce the acupuncture and moxibustion skill havebeen sufficiently developed, marked treatment

foundational

text

of

traditional

Chinesefrequently found and thus shows that the yin-yang
concept had been used in medicine.

effects can be achieved even in short treatment times.

However, the two characters expressing the

And if the practitioner makes her/himself well aware

concept "supreme ultimate" are not found in theof these skills, the efficacy can be still further"Huang Di Nei Jing". The can be found in the "I

improved. In order to sufficiently implement thisChing" though. Kobayashi changed the pulse

awareness, sound technical skills and clinicaldiagnosis centered style based on his clinicalexperience are necessary. It is also necessary toexperiences

cultivate one's imaginative powers through daily qi

abdominal diagnosis and the use of the backgong and breathing exercises.

transport points. The sequence of events which led

toatreatmentstylerelyingonto the theory pertaining to vital energy currently
attracting much attention was probably strongly[Decrease in vital energy]
Starting from a treatment style centering on

influenced by Kobayashi's study of "divination". The

pulse diagnosis Kobayashi developed his Shakuju

Kanto Acupuncture and Moxibution Vocational

treatment concentrating on the abdominal diagnosis

School at which Kobayashi taught, had been

and the back transport points described in the Nanestablished by the diviner Mitsutake Kobayashi. At

Jing. Regarding the selection of the back transportthat time Mitsutake Kobayashi thought that if hepoints he also integrated the engendering andwere to study medicine as a diviner, the form of

restraining theory, which at that time meant, that

medicine he would like to learn should be influenced

the theoretic foundation of the treatment took theby oriental thought (concepts of divination), which

deficiency-excess

reinforcement-reduction

inevitably meant, he had to call on a vocational

duality into consideration. Yet, treatment efficacy

school for acupuncture and moxibustion. However,changed markedly by changing the order of thethe curriculum in vocational schools for acupuncture

treatment of the back transport points. Also, based

and moxibustion was more influenced by westernon clinical facts he reaffirmed the existence of the

medical concepts than oriental concepts (concepts ofsupreme ultimate concept manifesting as deficiency-

divination). Disappointed Mitsutake Kobayashi

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

7

Volume 13, Number 1 | Spring 2018

decided he had to rise to the task of establishing a

Seminars were also held on the West Coast in San

school to study acupuncture and moxibustion based

Francisco, in Hawaii, at Acupuncture & Integrativeonof divination).

Medicine College (AIMC) under the tutorship ofMitsutake Kobayashi calling on Kobayashi, who has

Diano Juliano. In 2017 Daiki Takahashi of thea teaching license for acupuncture and moxibustion

Shakuju Society, who is also a teacher at the Goto

schools, was the beginning of their connection. Over

College of Medical Arts and Sciences as a sister

the three years it took until the opening of the school

school of the AIMC, also held a seminar.

orientalconcepts(concepts

Kobayashi learned the basics of divination from
Mitsutake Kobayashi. Groping for improvements inacupuncture and moxibustion treatment Kobayashi
was convinced through his study of divination that
there is conclusive evidence of a correlation between
divinationandacupunctureandmoxibustion

treatment. Doubtlessly oriental thought (concepts of
divination) is currently strongly influencing the
Shakuju treatment. Kobayashi published in 2010
the book "Introduction to the Book of Changes for
Acupuncture and Moxibustion Treatment" (Midori
Shobo)

describing

acupuncture

and

the

correlation

moxibustion

betweentreatment

anddivination.
[Current Shakuju treatment]
The Shakuju Society has conducted activities
mainly in the Kanto region to popularize the
Shakuju treatment, but Kobayashi also made ademonstration of the technique during an invitedlecture held in 1988 in San Francisco at theJapanese-American

Acupuncture

Foundation(JAAF). Since 2004 Shakuju treatment seminars
were held in Boston on the American East Coast
mainly by Kobayashi himself as well as othermembers of the Shakuju Society as lecturers. So far
more than 10 such seminars (over a period of morethan 10 years) were held and in recent years otherseminars were held mainly by the vice president of
the Shakuju Society Osamu Hara and the head of theacademic department Tetsu Nakatani. Also, at the
NESA Acupuncture Treatment Center in Boston the
Shakuju treatment has formally be integrated into
the coursework and is taught mainly by Diane
Juliano.

8

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

Volume 13, Number 1 | Spring 2018

Kampo Medicine – Current Research
The Traditional Herbal Medicine Boiogito (FangYi-Huang-Qi-Tang) Slows Postprandial Oxidationof Ingested Glucose Only in Women

Koichiro Tanaka1), Hiroshi Uchino3), Kazuhiko Nara1),
Yoshifumi Irie1), Takahisa Hirose3) and Yoshihisa Urita1,2)

1) Department of Traditional Japanese Medicine, Departmentof General Medicine and Emergency Care, School of
Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Toho University
2) Division of General Medicine, Department of General
Medicine and Emergency Care, School of Medicine,
Faculty of Medicine, Toho University
3) Division of Diabetes, Metabolism and Endocrinology,
Departement of Internal Medicine, Toho University
School of Medicine, Tokyo, JAPAN

Corresponding Author: Hiroshi Uchino M.D, Ph.D.3)(h.uchino@med.toho-u.ac.jp)

postprandial glucose and lipid metabolism withincretin axis.
Research Design and Methods: Age and BMI
matched subjects (6 men and 5 women) were
evaluated

for

2

weeks

BOT

treatmentonpostprandial glucose, lipid metabolism and incretin
axis on meal tolerance test with 13C-glucose breath
testing to measure glucose oxidation rate.
Results:

BOT

significantly

decreasedglucoseoxidation rate only in women. Postprandial glucose,
triglyceride, NEFA, RLP-c and active-GLP1 were notaffected by BOT administration in either sex.
Conclusions: Traditional herb, BOT appears todecreased postprandial glucose oxidation only inwomen. The gender difference in the effect of glucose
oxidation may not be mediated by neither insulin nor
incretion dependent pathway.

Main Messages
1. Highlights the gender specific effect of ingested
glucose oxidation of traditional herbal medicine,

Boiogito (BOT), which has been used to treat
various metabolic diseases.
2. BOT decreased postprandial glucose oxidation
only in women.
3. The gender difference in the effect of glucose
oxidation may not be mediated by neither insulin
nor incretion dependent pathway.

(Japanese

Clinical

TrialsRegistry,No.

UMIN000016493)
KEYWORDS: Boiogito, glucose metabolism, glucose
oxidation, women
Introduction
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of
diseases and disorders that increase the risk ofdeveloping cardiovascular diseases and diabetes
mellitus. The prevalence of MetS is increasing in the

Areas of Uncertainty
1. Patients with metabolic syndrome and diabetes areneeded to determine the precise effects of BOT on
energy metabolisms and substrate oxidation rate.
2. The mechanism for gender difference should be
identify precisely.
3. Substantial number of the patients and long term
effect should be done in the double blind fashion,
to confirm the further benefit of the BOT.

populations of not only in obese Caucasian, but alsoinnon-obese

Asian,

whichhas

resultedinconsiderable medical and social problems. Obesity1）

is not a sole problems for

MetS, while the bodymass index (BMI) cut point for screening Asian
Americans for prediabetes and diabetes likely to belower than Caucasians.

Boiogito (BOT, Fang-Yi-Huang-Qi-Tang) is acommon formulation in traditional herbal medicine
in east Asian countries 5,8) and has been used to treat

ABSTRACT
Objective: Boiogito (BOT, Fang-Yi-Huang-Qi-Tang)
is a traditional herbal medicine and used to treat
metabolic diseases in Asia, especially in women. We
evaluated the gender specific effect of BOT on

obesity, fatigue, hyperhidrosis, edema of lower
extremities, oliguria, and arthralgia.8) Shimada, etal. reported that BOT had a preventive effect on
metabolic disorders in the Tsumura, Suzuki Obese

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

9Volume 13, Number 1 | Spring 2018

Diabetes (TSOD) mouse, a model of spontaneousLaboratory testingobese type 2 diabetes. In addition to these, BOT is

Venous blood was sampled from each participant

more often used in women than in man.11) However,using a conventional method every 30 min from 9:00

if any, few reports have examined how BOT improves

AM to 12:00 PM (7 times in total). Plasma

whole body energy substrate metabolism in suchconcentrations of glucose, insulin, triglyceride, freeconditions. Thus, we initially investigated the effects

fatty acid (FFA), active glucagon-like peptide-1(GLP-of BOT, particularly its effects on postprandial

1) and remnant-like particle cholesterol (RLP-C)

glucose and lipid metabolism to clarify the difference

were measured.

of gender
13C-glucose breath test

Methods

13C-glucose

Subjects

methodEleven healthy volunteers, sex (6 men

breath testing is non-invasive, simple

todetectdynamic

alteration

of

and 5

metabolism.2,7) Based on the previous researches,

women), age (36± 11.3 years) and BMI (21.5 ± 2.4)

this test had been performed as done with othermatched, were enrolled in the single center parallel

herbal medicine.9) Briefly, on the day of the test, each

designedparticipant took the last dose of BOT at 8:00 AM andtreatment,

trial.

No

participant

had

medicalincludingdiabetes

mellitus

andate the test meal between 8:30 and 8:45 AM, along

hyperlipidemia in the 6 months before the start ofwith 200 ml of tap water containing 100mg of [1-13C]-

this study. The protocol of the study was approved by

glucose (Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. Tokyo,

the Ethical Committee of Toho University School ofJapan). Breath samples were collected every 10 min

Medicine (No. 21038), University Hospital Medical

for 180 min, starting at 9:00 AM. Baseline (i.e.,

Information Network; UMIN Clinical Trials Registry,

without 13C) breath samples were collected before

Number UMIN000016493.

8:30 AM. Stable isotope 13C enrichment in eachsample was measured, and the glucose oxidation

Boiogito
BOT is a powdered, freeze-dried water extract andrate of each participant was calculated as previously

was purchased from Tsumura Co. Ltd. (Tokyo,

tracer to tracee ratio and was expressed as Δ overJapan).

manufacturer’s

baseline per mil (‰) using a non-dispersive infrared

instructions, the standard daily dose of BOT forisotope spectrometry device (UBiT-IR 300; Otsuka

adults is 7.5g of powder, which comprises a mixture

Electronics Co.,Ltd., Osaka, Japan).

of 6 decocted medicinal herbs (g): Sinomenium stem

The results were converted to percentage 13CO2(5.0), Astragali radix (5.0), Atractylodis rhizoma

recovery in breath per hour (% dose/h) based on body(3.0), Glycyrrhizae radix (1.5), Zingiberis rhizoma

surface area (BSA) and the assumed CO2 production(1.0) and Zizyphi fructus (3.0). Participants were

(VCO2) as follows:

Accordingtothedescribed.4)

13C enrichment

was measured as thegiven BOT 3 times a day (2.5 g per dose) for 2 weeks.
% dose/ hour =Δ‰×VCO2 ×0.01123×10/dose(mg) ×
Test meal (cookie test)

atom% excess(APE)/molecular weight(MW) where

A test meal consisted of 30 pieces of solid test cookies,

MW is 46, VCO2 is 300 (BSA mmol/hour, BSA(m2) iswhich in total consisted of 75g carbohydrate (85%0.024265×weight(kg)0.5378×height0.3964 (cm), A (dose)flour starch, 15% maltose), 28.5g butterfat, 1.6g fiber,

is 80mg and APE is 99.5 atom%. Maximum

and 8.0g protein and contained 592 kcal (Neocookie;

concentration (Cmax; %dose/ hour), time to maximum

SARAYA Co.Ltd., Osaka, Japan).3)

concentration (Tmax; min), and area under the curve

10

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

Volume 13, Number 1 | Spring 2018

(AUC) at each time point (%dose/ hour･min) were

Results

calculated. Cmax and AUC reflect absorption of theEleven healthy volunteers (5 women and 6 men)labeled substrate.

participated in this study. The results of 13C-glucose
breath tests are shown in Fig. 1. The two way layout

Statistical analysis

ANOVA was revealed the significant difference of the

The two way layout analysis of variance (ANOVA)

paired-data between baseline and after two weeks

was used to analyze the difference of the paired-dataadministration of BOT by sexes. BOT significantly

by sex and each time. After that, we calculate thedecreased glucose oxidation from 20 to 170 min

Wilcoxon signed-rank test, to examine the statistical(p<0.05) only in women. No characteristic other thansignificance of any difference in measurements. All

sex was associated with a significant difference invalues are expressed as mean standard deviation

measurements.

(SD). A p value less than 0.05 was considered to

Glucose,indicate statistical significance.

triglyceride (TG), RLP-C concentration were not

Insulin,serum

activeGLP-1,

FFA,

statistically significant by BOT in either sex (Fig.2).

Figure legends
Postprandial 13C-glucose breath test as measured by 13C-glucose oxidation rate (% dose / hour), in male(A) and female (B). Dotted line and solid line indicate pre- and post- Boiogito (BOT) values, respectively.

BOT significantly decrease glucose oxidation in female, but not in male from 20 to 170 min (p<0.05). Values
are mean ± SD.

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

11

Volume 13, Number 1 | Spring 2018

Discussion

formulation BOT decreased postprandial glucose

This is the first report to study the effect of herbal

oxidation rate, which is independent on neither

medicine, BOT, on postprandial dynamic alternation

insulin nor GLP-1-incretin pathways, in healthyon energy substrate metabolism. We evaluatedwomen. Further studies of patients with metabolic

13C-glucose breath testing

syndrome and diabetes are needed to determine thewhich is non-invasive method. In the present study,

precise effects of BOT on energy metabolisms andglucose oxidation withtwo

weeks'

postprandial

BOT

ingestion

13C-glucose

inducedoxidationindecrease

substrate oxidation rate.

women.

However, postprandial blood glucose, insulin andFunding Statement

active GLP-1 concentration was not altered by BOTThisin both men and women.

funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-

BOT has been used to treat a number of conditions

profit sectors.

research received no specific grant from any

in obese people for more than two millenniums andtraditionally suggested that it improves obesity

Competing Interests Statement

among women. If BOT delays glycolysis without

All authors have no competing financial interests tochanging total energy expenditure, the body would

declare.

instead obtain energy by lipid oxidation. Such lipid
consumption decreases fat stores, thus reducing

Contributorship Statement

obesity, albeit serum TG, FFA and RLP-c level did

K.T, H.U, K.N., T.N., K.S., T.H., and Y.U. contributed

not significantly change in this trial. This might beto the research and reviewed and edited theconsidered either by enhanced rates of lipid turnover

manuscript. K.T. contributed to the research, dataor reduced glucose absorption by intestine.

analysis and interpretation, discussion, and writing

Hoo et al. isolated the effective fraction fromof the manuscript. H.U. contributed research, data

Astragali radix, a principal ingredient of BOT, andanalysis and interpretation , discussion, and writing

reported that it alleviates glucose intolerance,

the manuscript. K.N. contributed research, data

insulin resistance and hypertriglyceridemia in db/db

analysis and interpretation , discussion, and writing

diabetic mice4).

the manuscript. T.N. contributed to the protocol,

It is widely believed that BOT is an effective

data

treatment for obesity in middle-aged women, which

manuscript. K.S contributed to the protocol, data

slows postprandial glucose oxidation rate somewhat

generation, discussion and writing the manuscript.

observed in the present study. Sex differences in lipid

T.H. contributed to the research, data analysis and

and

been

interpretation, and writing and editing of theinvestigated. Lipid oxidation tends to be suppressed

manuscript. Y.U. contributed to the research, data

lower in female than in male with oral fructose

analysis and interpretation, and writing and editing

ingestion7). Besides, it is known that female has sex-of the manuscript. K.T. and H.U. are guarantor of

specific mechanism relevant in nutritional change,

this work, had full access to all the data and takes

might be the effect of fibroblast growth factor 21

responsibility for the accuracy of the data and the(FGF 21)6). BOT may also share the sex-specificanalysis.

glucosemetabolism

hasrecently

generation,

discussion

andwritingthedifference in fuel energy metabolism.
Although the present findings were preliminary

Data sharing statement No additional data aredata,

available.

12

this

study

suggests

that

the

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

Volume 13, Number 1 | Spring 2018

References

9) Tanaka K, Urita Y, Nara K, et al.: Effects of the1) Bassi N, Karagodin I, Wang S, Vassallo P,
Priyanath A, Massaro E, Stone NJ.
Modificationfor

Metabolic

LifestyleSyndrome:A

Systematic Review. Am J Med. 2014 Dec;
127(12): 1242. e1-10

traditional Japanese medicine Rikkunshito on
postprandial glucose and lipid metabolism.
Hepatogastroenterology. 2011: 58(109): 11121118.
10) Tran C, Jacot-Descombes D, Lecoultre V, et al:2) Blondin DP, Péronnet F, Haman F.: Effects ofSex differences in lipid and glucose kinetics afteringestiong [13C]glucose early and late into cold

ingestion of an acute oral fructose load. Br J Nutr.

exposure on substrate utilization. J Appl Physiol.

2010: 104(8):1139-47.

2010: 109(3): 654-62.
3) Harano11) Yamakawa J, Moriya J, Takeuchi K, et al.:Y, Miyawaki

T,Nabiki J,

cookietest

Developmentofsimultaneous

determination

et al.:

forof

Significance of Kampo, Japanese traditionalthemedicine, in the treatment of obesity: basic andglucoseclinical evidence. Evid Based Complement

torelance, hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance

Alternat Med. 2013; 2013: 943075

and postprandial dyslipedimia, Endcr J. 2006: 53(2):173-80.
4) Hoo RLC, Wong JYL, Qiao CF, et al.: The
effective fraction isolated from Radix Astragali
alleviates glucose intolerance, insulin resistanceand hypertriglyceridemia in db/db diabetic micethrough its anti-inflammatory activity.

Nutr

Metab (Lond). 2010, 7: 67.
5) Majima T, Inoue M, Kasahara Y, et al.: Effect of
the Japanese herbal medicine, Boiogito, on theosteoarthritis of the Knee with joint effusion.
Sports Med Arthrosc Rehabil Ther Technol. 2012
Jan 10; 4:3
6) Owen BM, Bookout AL, Ding X, et al: FGF21
contributes to neuroendocrine control of female
reproduction. Nat Med. 2013: 19(9): 1153-6.
7) Selz R, Jornayvaz FR, Tappy L, Woringer V,
Theintz GE.: Assessment of hepatic glucose
metabolism by indirect calorimetry in combination
with a non-invasive technique using naturally
enriched 13C glucose in healthy children andadolescents. Horm Res. 2004: 62(3): 142-8.
8) Shimada T, Akase T, Kosugi M, et al.: Preventive
effect of Boiogito on metabolic disorders in the
TSOD mouse, a model of spontaneous obese type
II diabetes mellitus. Evid Based Complement
Alternat Med. 2011; 2011: 931073

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

13

Volume 13, Number 1 | Spring 2018

Clinical Report (Acupuncture)
Two Cases of Low Back Pain / Sciatica Improved by
Meridian Therapy
Michihiro Baba
Baba Kaiseido Acupuncture Clinic

excess of the gallbladder channel. Otherwise a mild
degree of liver deficiency and stomach channel
excess was observed.
[Treatment plan]
Based on the principles for reinforcement andreduction of deficiency and excess, deficiency of theI. Preface

kidney channel was tonified and excess of the

Meridian therapy we perform is based on a system

gallbladder channel was reduced.

where we determine the state of deficiency or excess[Treatment]

according to the three bilateral radial pulses andTonifying with single short needle insertions at KI7,

tonifyor

reduceaccordingly

been

KI10, LR8, BL23. Reduction at GB31, ST37, BL19

established in the 1930th by Sorei Yanagiya and Sodo

and

has

and BL21. Moxa with paper mats were used for the

Okabe. The author has used this method inherited

moxibustion, applying 5 half-rice grain sized cones

from his predecessors for his acupuncture andeach at BL23, KI7, LR8 and GB31.

moxibustion treatment for approximately 20 years.

[Course]On this occasion I would like to introduce theUpon his visit for the second treatment session

treatment we routinely use to treat low back pain.

(April 17) the lancinating pain had subsided. Since

Here I will briefly show some cases and explain thethe pulse revealed that the kidney deficiency andsignificance of the points we use for our standard

gallbladder excess still remained, we administeredtherapy.

the same treatment as before.
During the patient's visit for the third treatment

II. Casesession (April 20) the patient reported almost no[Case No. 1] 67 years, male, 170 cm, 63 kg

pain and intended to go and play golf the following[First visit] Year X, April 14

week. The gallbladder pulse had significantly[Chief complaint] Low back pain

improved.

[Present illness]

During the visit for the fifth treatment session (MayFive days ago the patient went shellfish gathering10) the patient reported having been able to play golf

and spent a prolonged time with his back bent. On

the other day and apart from some tension had nothe following day (4 days ago) low back pain

low back pain. The pulse diagnosis revealed only adeveloped. After awaking in the morning and rising,slightly concerning degree of kidney deficiency.

bending forward triggered lancinating pain. It was

On July 28 of the same year he visited our clinic

stronger on the right than on the left side. There was

because of a common cold and reported being free ofno associated leg pain. The patient suffers from low

low back pain.

back pain about once a year, but the pain has never[Discussion]

been this intense before. He did not visit any medical

Pulse diagnosis revealed for this patient a kidney

facilities like an orthopedic clinic.

channel deficiency and a gallbladder channel excess,[Past history]

so that we chose a standard set of acupoints for the

He is on hypotensive medication. At home blood

treatment, which then led to a recession of thepressure is stable at an average ofsymptoms. If low back pain is the chief complaint,

120/70 mmHg.

[Oriental medical diagnosis]

recovery of the kidney channel deficiency and a

Diagnosis of the three bilateral radial pulses shows

gallbladder channel excess revealed by the pulse

a marked deficiency of the kidney channel anddiagnosis represents one indicator. Further, in cases

14

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

Volume 13, Number 1 | Spring 2018of severe pain the left guan (bar) pulse tends to show

[Treatment]

an excess pattern. In this cases present basically as

Tonification at KI7, KI10 and BL23. Reduction ata kidney deficiency pattern, making it highly

GB31,

possible that insufficient tonification of the kidney

Moxibustion at BL23, KI7, GB31 and LU6, applying

channel results in recurrent attacks of low back pain.

5 cones each (10 cones only at KI6).

The present case was considered to be such a typical

Course: Second session (July 8), no change.

example.

Third session: (July 10) too no change.

ST37,

LU6,

BL21,

BL19

and

BL13.

Walking had become slightly easier after the[Case No. 2] 78 years, male, 159 cm, 50 kg

treatment of the fourth session (July 12). Four days

[First visit] Year X, July 4

later another nerve block injection was scheduled,[Chief complaint] Pain from the right buttock to thebut the patient now had doubts about it. He said, heright knee

does not want to receive injections because they hurt.

[Present illness]

After the fifth session (July 15) the orthopedist said

The patient took a leave of absence from work

after observing the patient's gait, that the condition(butcher) approximately 10 days earlier because of

had improved sufficiently and there is no need forsevere lancinating pain occurring when he puts his

any further injections. The patient continued to takeright foot down during walking and standing. He

the analgesics though.

consulted two different orthopedists and wasWhen the patient consulted the physician after the

diagnosed with a herniated intervertebral disk atseventh session (July 21) regarding his constipation,

L2-3 and received nerve block injections, but thesethe dose of the analgesics was decreased to half thewere not effective. He was told to have an MRI

original amount. Walking had become much easier.

examination on the following day. The physician

After the ninth (July 29) session walking was almost

administered several nerve block injections, butpain free and the patient discontinued the analgesics

since they were not effective, the patient was told toafter consultation with the physician. Since August

consider surgery. The patient also used analgesics,

the patient visited our clinic regularly because of his

but they too were not effective and only aggravatedkidney disease, but the severe pain did not recur andhis constipation, so that he did not want to use them.

he returned to work.

[Past History] On steroids because of kidney disease[Discussion](nephrotic syndrome).

When herniated intervertebral disks or spinal canal[Oriental medical diagnosis]

stenosis is associated with sciatica, it often takes

Diagnosis of the three bilateral radial pulses shows

between 1 and 3 months until an alleviation of thea marked deficiency of the kidney channel, excess of

pain is achieved. This was the case in this patient too

the gallbladder, stomach and lung channels. The

and although until the third session almost no

pulse was overall floating and slightly rapid.

changes were achieved, we continued treatment[Treatment plan]maintaining the protocol of the first session. This

Based on the principles for reinforcement andpatient required some time to recover from thereduction of deficiency and excess, treatment

kidney channel deficiency, but the gallbladderconcentrated on tonification of the kidney channel,

channel excess as a pain indicator actually did

while reducing the gallbladder, stomach and lung

improve faster than expected. That was consideredchannels.

to be due to the action of the simultaneously
administered analgesics. I have often experienced,
that

the

administration

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

and

15

Volume 13, Number 1 | Spring 2018

moxibustion treatment augments the effects ofmedications and this patient seemed to have beensuch a case. In case of low back pain or sciatica akidney channel deficiency is often the core of thecondition, but it is important to identify othersimultaneously manifesting excess patterns.
III. Conclusions
The two cases described here are representative forgeneral cases often encountered in my clinic. Pulse
patterns that need to be noted for the treatment of
low back pain and sciatica are "kidney channel
deficiency" and "gallbladder channel excess". Keep inmind, however, that besides those "liver channel
deficiency","stomachchannelexcess","largeintestine channel excess" and "bladder channel
excess" too often appear. The selection of acupoints
follows the pulse pattern. Basic points are thoseshown for the treatment in the case reports above. In
addition, KI10, EX-19, LI13 may also be reactive
points. Further, attention should also be paid toindurations in the area of the back transport point
group from BL23 to BL18 and if present, using thesepoints for the treatment.

16

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

Volume 13, Number 1 | Spring 2018

Conference Report
Interpretation for Dr. Hempen in Kanazawa and our
Activities in JTAMSJTAMS International Department Translation Teamtheme this time was "Acupuncture Moxibustion andTreatment

By

Expertizeon

OrientalWestern

Treatment
medicalOptions",

diseases

andprofessional medical English are required.
A manuscript from Dr. Hempen was sent to us 3

The 45th Annual Meeting of the Japaneseweeks before the conference and we started

Association of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Society

translating the manuscript from there. After that,(in Kanazawa) was held in October last year, In the

we interacted with Dr. Hempen several times by e-sponsored seminar (by Goto College), we welcomed

mail, but it was extremely difficult to talk to details

Professor Moritz Hempen, an internal medicineof the contents by e-mail alone. To assume every

specialist at the Technical University of Munich,situation and cases, we prepared hand data andGermany with the theme of Cardiovascular andentrusted everything to a preliminary meeting on

Traditional Chinese medicine: treatment options of

the day of presentation. Dr. Hempen’s lecture was

acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine".

given in the form of a consecutive interpreting that

The International Department in JTAMS wasinterpret each time after Mr. Hempen's explanation.

pleased to work as an interpreter for that lecture.

The meeting just before the lecture was mainlyThis initiative this time became a first step for theconfirmation of the contents, but it took well over 3

International Department.

hours just for it. The lecture time was 50 minutes,
but it was full of uneasiness whether we could finish
within the set time while consecutively interpreting.
We did not have a time for through practice, so it wasexactly the first game of the presentation.
When the lecture started, we proceeded theinterpreting while taking notes on the contents
which are not listed on the manuscript. The primaryconcern was whether the presentation will end
within the time. It finished in 50 minutes, within thescheduled time, though always checking the timewith the timer at hand. Apart from this lecture, we
also engaged in attendance at Dr. Hempen during
the social gatherings and conference, and we kept on

An interpreting team was formed in June bybridging communication with other teachers. And

acupuncturists with English language skills in thealso, the day Dr. Hempen left Japan for Germany, we

member of international department. We had

saw him off at the Haneda Airport. It was the first

repeated meetings and proceeded preparations until

time for an international department to support thisthe event. First of all, undertaking the preliminarykind of activity but we got compliments from theresearch is important when interpreting. Starting

attendees, which ended up with getting a good start.

from obtaining background information such as
expertise of the lecturer, past career, writing

Through this experience, we, the International

relatedDepartment, would like to focus more on inboundliteratures on Dr. Hempen’s specialized field. The

support in the future. As number of inbound tourists

literatures,

then,

we

researchedthe

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

17

Volume 13, Number 1 | Spring 2018is expanding towards hosting the Olympic Games in

between them. In view of this problem, we are also

Japan,

withconsidering conducting conversation techniques

backgrounds other than Japanese language willseminars that include role-play practices in the clinic

increase.

setting in the future.

thedemand

There

is

for
no

acupuncturists
doubt

that

Japanese

acupuncture and moxibustion has a distinctive merit,
As an international department of the traditional

and its outstanding skill leads the world.
Many of the teachers who handle it belong to thisacupuncture and moxibustion society, we will be a

traditional acupuncture and moxibustion society.

bridgetospreadHowever, we feel very sorry that these facts are notacupuncture to the world even a little, and at theso known to the world yet. The fact that many of thesame time, we will strive to prepare for receiving

researches and studies conducted in Japan are notinbound visitors from foreign countries.

yet translated into English, results are not widely
recognized. We are so concerned about the situation
where the treasures are buried within Japan andnever be discovered. How unfortunate it is!
We would like to disseminate the art of Japanese
acupunctureandmoxibustion,

including

thiswonderful techniques and EBM from the studies,from our international department. To the start,
what we are now thinking is to first publish theEnglish terminology of the traditional acupuncture
moxibustion.

Currently,

each

acupunctureorganization has various expressions in uniqueacupuncture and moxibustion practices. Although it
shows the same symptoms and condition, each group
has their own phrases. For practitioners from foreigncountries, this is extremely difficult to understand.
In order to have a better understanding of Japanesetraditional acupuncture and moxibustion, we arethinking about creating an Oriental medicine
glossaryin

Englishthatsummarizes

each

expression clearly. Receiving the inbound visitorsfrom all over the world, calls for support their stay
have been increasing also in the field of acupuncture.
Patients from foreign countries will increase inclinics in the future. Even though foreign travelers
want to receive acupuncture and moxibustion
treatment in Japan, they do not know where they
can receive treatment or are worried because of thelanguage barrier. There may be many teachers who
feel uneasy about making communication to foreign
patients. The language barrier is towering up

18

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

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