Diagnosis of Kampo medicine and traditional Korean medicine today “1st International Symposium on Kampo Medicine”

To The Editor The first presentation is “Formulations Corresponding to Pattern Identification” by M. Kainuma. Chinese medicine was introduced to Japan between the 5th and 6th centuries and has changed over time to suit Japanese needs. Todo Yoshimasu rejected the medical system based on traditional medical theory up to that time, abandoning analysis of pathophysiology. He developed a system known as “Formulations corresponding to pattern identification,” Hoshosotai, in which a specific symptom corresponds to a specific formula. Although this was the original method, much experience was accumulated in the late 18th and 19th centuries, and the traditional medical concepts that had been completely rejected by Todo Yoshimasu came back into use. However, the concept is not used to analyze the unique physiology and pathology, but is used simply as an indicator to categorize and derive prescriptions, which is a crucial difference from the traditional medical concept. The current Kampo methodology, established in the early Showa period, has been modified from the original. From the combination of signs and symptoms and the diagnosis of Western medicine, the appropriate formula is selected. If it is difficult to select a formula from only the symptoms, we use the concepts of traditional Kampo medicine (eight principles, six stage patterns, qi/blood [TM]/fluid [TM], five zang organs, etc.) along with the concepts of Western medicine. The second presentation is “The Development and Transition of Tongue Diagnosis in Japan” by T. Kawanabe. In Japan, the Gosei school promoted clinical utilization of tongue diagnosis from 15th century, and later in the Edo period, the Koho school, which emphasized the “Shanghanlun,” also began to incorporate tongue diagnosis actively. “Ao’s Records of Golden Mirror on Cold-Attack,” Ao-Shi Shanghan-Jinjinglu, and “Tongue Model on Cold-Attack,” Shanghan-Shejian, the books on tongue diagnosis introduced from China in the Ming and Qing dynasties, were widely disseminated in Japan and had a great influence on the original books of tongue diagnosis such as “Illustration of Tongue Coating,” Zettai-zusetsu, published by Tsuchida Takayuki and co-authors. Meanwhile, the theory of Yin–Yang principles did not fit in with the Koho school, “Illustration of both Abdominal and Tongue Diagnosis by Japanese Characters,” Kokuji-fukuzetsu-zukai, published by Nojo Kuronaga, which became a quite unique text that explains the correlation between tongue diagnosis and abdominal diagnosis that developed in Japan with corresponding prescriptions. One of the characteristics of Japanese old texts is the richness in expression quality such as coloring and three-dimensionality. This text will introduce the history of tongue diagnosis in Japan with existing old texts and its actual use in current medicine. The third presentation is “Medical Characteristics of Abdominal Diagnosis in Kampo Medicine” by G. Ito. In ancient Chinese medicine, the Neijing type abdominal diagnosis first appeared as the plan of the treatment and prognosis of the diseases, and the Shanghanlun type abdominal diagnosis becomes the sign of the treatment method itself and decided the formulae for diseases. However, these findings were not very frequent, and both types of abdominal diagnosis became obsolete subsequently. On the other hand, the abdominal diagnosis of the Neijing type was introduced to Japan in the 15th century, and the Shanghanlun type abdominal diagnosis had been developed independently in the Koho school of the Edo period. Recently, abdominal diagnosis has been used as a vital component of palpation and essential diagnosis in Kampo medicine. The abdominal examination can detect not only changes in the somatic sense such as warmth, coldness, moistness, and dryness by passively touching the abdominal skin, but also hyperalgesia or tenderness by actively touching by finger. As a result, the abdominal pattern [TM] provides valuable clues for successful diagnosis that has made it possible to detect structural nature or abnormalities under the skin such as hypofunction or decreased blood flow to the internal organs, autonomic nervous disfunction, or overstrain of Received: 23 May 2022 Revised: 27 June 2022 Accepted: 28 June 2022