Ishinpō

The 22nd volume of the Ishinpō. The volume which has an only figure also in the Ishinpō

Ishinpō (医心方 ishinpō or ishinhō) is the oldest surviving Japanese medical text. It was written by Tamba Yasuyori 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.

Notes

  1. Yoshida (2001: 192)

References