Ishinpō (医心方 ishinpō or ishinhō) is the oldest surviving Japanese medical text. It was written by Yasuyori Tamba in 984 and is 30 volumes in length. The work is based on the Chinese Bìng Yuánhóu lún, written by Suí Dynasty author Cháo Yuánfāng. Many of the Ishinpō texts have been lost in China, and have only survived to the present day through their inclusion in the work. It is a national treasure of Japan.[1]
The structural organization of the text is as follows:
| Volume | Subject |
|---|---|
| 1 | Overview |
| 2 | Acupuncture and moxibustion |
| 3 | Internal medicine |
| 4 | Dermatology |
| 5 | Otolaryngology |
| 6 | Internal medicine |
| 7 | Surgery and internal medicine |
| 8 | Internal medicine |
| 9 | Internal medicine |
| 10 | Internal medicine |
| 11 | Internal medicine |
| 12 | Internal medicine |
| 13 | Internal medicine |
| 14 | Internal medicine |
| 15 | Surgery |
| 16 | Surgery |
| 17 | Surgery |
| 18 | Surgery |
| 19 | Pharmacology |
| 20 | Pharmacology |
| 21 | Gynaecology |
| 22 | Obstetrics |
| 23 | Obstetrics |
| 24 | Obstetrics and gynaecology |
| 25 | Pediatrics |
| 26 | Health |
| 27 | Health |
| 28 | Human sexual behavior |
| 29 | Dietary health |
| 30 | Dietary health |
The Ishinpō is notable for preserving some of the Taoist sexual manuals from the Han to the Tang dynasty. The twenty-eighth section of the Ishinpō contains a complete transcription of a Daoist text known as The Classic of Sunu which is a dialogue between the Dark Maiden and the Yellow Emperor, with the former providing advice on sexual practices to the latter.
While the text is written in kanbun, Japanese terms are written to the side in Man'yōgana for plants, animals, and minerals.