A Study on Yakuho Ketsuyo by Sō Han

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  • 曽槃『薬圃擷餘』考
  • ソバン 『 ヤクホケツヨ 』 コウ

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Sō Han (1758-1834), who was physician to Shimazu Shigehide, the 8th feudal lord of the Satsuma Domain, wrote Yakuho Ketsuyo from the latter half of the 18th century to the first half of the 19th century, recording his many years of experience and observation. This paper considers the process of its formation based on the five editions of the manuscripts currently available for study in Japan. Through a method of bibliographic comparison, it is possible to clarify the relationship between all five version (National Diet Library, National Archives of Japan, Iwase Bunko Library, Kyo-U Library, and Tokyo Medical University Library) and the time of their formation. The National Diet Library and Kyo-U Library editions are three-volume books consisting of three sections, and the others are four-volume books consisting of four sections. The arrangement of the sections and the number of entries indicate that the Iwase Bunko Library edition is intermediate between the three-volume and four-volume versions. Yakuho Ketsuyo contains many citations from earlier books on materia medica and geography, the most notable of which is Ishō. Many parts of the book are related to Sō Han's teacher, Taki Motonori, and the author of Ishō, Taki Motoyasu, showing that in addition to his duties as physician to the Satsuma Domain – managing the medicinal plots and appraising the herbs there – there are traces of interaction with physicians from the shogunate and those from other domains stationed in Edo. Not bound by traditional knowledge of medicinal herbs, Sō Han recorded his knowledge of imported books such as Honzō Jūshin and Seiki Monkenroku, and also had an interest in Western botany and pharmacy, obtaining new information from scholars of Western learning. The work that Sō Han performed in Yakuho Ketsuyo adding new insights and information seems to have been common to materia medica scholars at that time. Through examples such as entries on Panax quinquefolius and Ophiocordyceps sinensis, it can be pointed out that Taki Motoyasu's Ishō had not been made into a printed book at the stage when Sō Han was referring to it. There are also traces of additions In Yakuho Ketsuyo made by scholars of materia medica who succeeded Sō Han. The results of the daily communication and exchanges of information among scholars are reflected in the changes in these manuscripts.

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