Yoshimasu Tōdō

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Yoshimasu Tōdō ( Japanese 吉 益 東 洞 ; * 1702 in Yamaguchi, Aki Province (today about: Hashimoto-chō, Naka-ku , Hiroshima ); † November 9, 1773 in Heian-kyō , Kyoto ) was the firstborn son of the surgeon and obstetrician Hatakeyama Shigemune ( 畠 山 重 宗 ). His first name was Tamenori ( 為 則 ); he was called Shūsuke ( 周 助 ). He later changed his family name to Yoshimasu after his birthplace Hiroshima and his first name to the place of residence of his most important sponsor and friend Yamawaki Tōyō in Tōdō.

As a medical student, Yoshimasu dealt critically with the established medical theory teachings of his time , which were adopted from China . As a young surgeon and obstetrician, he then published writings in which he rejected the teachings of the "four great doctors" of the Jin and Yuan dynasties as well as the teachings of Wang Tao (670? –755) and Sun Simiao (581? –682 ). In particular, Chinese medicine vehemently rejected the yin-yang etiology . He accepted only the (in the "Key recipes from the golden cabinet" yaolüe Jingui ) for development has come natural and herbal medicine by Zhang Zhongjing and developed under the influence of the teachings of Nagoya Gen'i and Goto Konzan (1659-1733) new diagnostic - and therapy procedures. He linked the identified disease patterns directly with the respective specific recipe.

Personal examination and actual experience ( shinshi jikken ) were an indispensable prerequisite for gaining knowledge. Certain Chinese works have been accepted as a basis for work, but ultimately one depends on what one sees and has examined ( Yakuchō ; 1785). Notwithstanding the emphasis on practice and experience, he postulated the doctrine of a single cause of all disease ( manbyō ichidoku , "one poison, ten thousand ailments"). In his opinion, the variety of diseases and their symptoms stemmed from the fact that this one poison attacks different parts of the body. He considered the question of the origin of the poison irrelevant in practice.

In 1739 Yoshimasu moved to Kyōto, the seat of the Tenno, in order to better bring his reform ideas closer to the established medical profession. The young doctor, who was discriminated against as a troublemaker by his writings, was ignored, impoverished and had to make a living as a wooden doll carver for a few years. Finally, he found in the influential doctor Yamawaki Tōyō a patron and friend who gave him access to the country's established doctors.

Together with Yamawaki Tōyō and Matsubara Keisuke, a student of Goto Konzan, Yoshimasu developed his theories further. Sometimes alone, sometimes together with schoolchildren and other medical professionals, he published studies, treatment reports and books. Especially because of his treatment successes, he became one of the most famous doctors in early modern Japan. The register of his students includes 546 names.

His Yoshimasu formula for weight loss also became famous .

literature

  • North American Journal of Oriental Medicine . Volume 10, November 29, 2003
  • Wolfgang Michel-Zaitsu: Traditional Medicine in Japan - From the early days to the present . Kiener Verlag, 2017, pp. 187–189. ( ISBN 978-3-943324-75-4 )

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