Japanese medical manuscript notebooks, 1810-1849 and undated

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Summary

Abstract:
The sixty-three manuscript volumes in this collection range from 10 to 154 pages, and were created in Japan from about 1810 to 1849, chiefly by medical students. The notebooks usually take one of two forms: transcriptions of lectures and demonstrations, and bodies of knowledge written up as manuals by well-known Japanese physicians of the time, especially Hanaoka Seishū and Takenaka Bunpō. Topics covered include herbal medicines and other prescriptions; treatments for diseases of the eyes and other parts of the head; surgery, particularly for cancers, tumors, and fistulas; breast cancer; smallpox; scurvy; osteopathy; treatment of wounds; suturing; hematology; gynecology and obstetrics; and pediatric medicine. Some notebooks contain black-and-white and color hand-drawn illustrations - many full-page - of surgeries, close-ups of suturing, bandages and wrappings, osteopathic manipulations, and medicinal plants. In most cases, the author or copyist recorded details such the place and time of the lecture and the name of the medical school. There are references in the notes to at least a dozen other contemporary or earlier physicians, and to earlier dates for the work being copied - these range from 1677 to 1796. Acquired as part of the History of Medicine Collections at Duke University.
Extent:
3.5 Linear Feet
63 Items
Language:
Material in Japanese
Collection ID:
RL.10050

Background

Scope and content:

The sixty-three Japanese manuscript volumes in this collection were created from 1810 to 1849, chiefly by medical students, and document Japanese medical training and practice during the time also known as the Edo period, and the conjoining of Chinese-inspired materia medica with current Western medical practices introduced primarily by the Dutch. The notebooks range in length from 10 to 154 pages, and typically take the form of transcriptions of lectures and demonstrations; in many cases the writer recorded the place and time of the demonstration and the name of the medical school. There are also volumes which represent the collected knowledge of well-known Japanese physicians of the time, especially Hanaoka Seishū but also Takenaka Bunsuke (Nanpō). There are references in the notes to at least a dozen other contemporary or earlier physicians.

The copyists and note-takers signed their names at the end of the volumes; the name Yamanaka Shūsai Hideyuki appears most frequently; also appearing frequently are the names of editors and proofreaders, and corrections and later annotations in red ink are found in a number of the manuscripts. In addition to the contemporary dates, there are many references to the earlier manuscript versions being copied: these dates range from 1677 to 1796.

The topics covered by the volumes range widely, and include: herbal medicine and other prescriptions; treatments for diseases of the eye and other parts of the head; surgery, particularly on cancers, swellings, and fistulas; breast cancer; smallpox; scurvy; osteopathy; the treatment of wounds; hematology; gynecology and obstetrics; and pediatric medicine. There are several volumes containing illustrative drawings, some hand-colored and others are black-and-white; they include detailed images of surgical procedures and close-ups of suturing; examples of bandages and wrappings; osteopathic manipulations; and medicinal plants.

One volume in particular stands out above the rest, consisting of over ninety carefully drawn, full-page, hand-coloured illustrations, nine of which are double-page, displaying patients with dislocated limbs, skin cancer, or requiring sophisticated bandages, as well as illustrations of internal organs and one page with surgical instruments. One of the illustrations is a realistic portrait of Hanaoka Seishū, with a beard and spectacles (probably imported from Holland), showing him excising a cyst from a patient. At the end of the volume, two different explanatory texts in Kanbun (classical Chinese read in the Japanese manner) provide comments in the volume about the diseases and their treatment.

Each codex in the collection is composed of leaves of rice paper, with hand-sewn bindings and soft covers, and calligraphy in black and red ink. Some of the texts are written in Shino Japanese (Chinese reading style) using all Kanji characters, while other texts are in Shino Japanese written in 19th-century characters - the language of the educated class in Japan. At least one volume (Vol. 21) contains Dutch words for medicinal compounds. The script reads back to front; the script is laid out in vertical columns that are read from right to left across the page. In some cases, pages or sections and covers are missing, and some volumes bear traces of insect damage, but for the most part, the volumes are remarkably well-preserved.

All titles are taken when possible from the covers or from section headings; approximate translations in English provided by library staff and are in brackets. In the case of missing titles, a title was supplied from content by library staff. Titles and significant names are also given in Japanese characters, and some older calendar dates are also given in modern Western dates. Illegible or untranslatable text is indicated by blank lines.

Volumes are arranged in this collection guide in two series: sets of notebooks, and single volumes. The items in the sets are linked by common themes or bodies of knowledge, and range from two to eleven volumes. They include collections of works by one physician, as well as sets of manuals and lecture notes on topics such as obstetrics and gynecology, metallurgy, opthalmology, pox and skin diseases, and others. Single volumes are housed after the sets.

All titles are taken when possible from the covers or from section headings; approximate translations in English provided by library staff and are in brackets. Titles and significant names are also given in Japanese characters.

Each volume has been assigned a unique institutional identifier.

Acquired as part of the History of Medicine Collections at Duke University.

Biographical / historical:

At the time when these volumes were written in the first quarter of the 19th century, Japanese medical practice was quite advanced due to a melding of Chinese, Portuguese, and Dutch medical practices, and the pioneering advances of Japanese physicians. By the early 1800s there were a number of medical schools in Japan, two of which are mentioned in the notebooks: Shunrinken (春 林 軒), Hanaoka Seishū's medical school located in Wakayama prefecture; and Seibidō (済 美 堂), located in Kyōto, led by Takenaka Bunpō. Some of the early medical schools such as Shunrinken graduated hundreds of medical students within a short period. Copying lecture notes and materia medica was part of the learning process, and resulted in a kind of manuscript medical manual that was then used for further studies or copied and passed down to other students. Several of the notebooks in this collection refer to bodies of knowledge originally authored by Hanaoka Seishū and Takenaka Bunpō.

Hanaoka Seishū (華 岡 青 洲) (1760-1835) was most known for his study and teaching of herbal medicine, surgical techniques, and the treatment of cancers, fistulas, and other serious ailments; he was also well-known for his pioneering use of general anesthesia long before it was first attempted by Western physicians. He advocated for the adoption of Western medicine as practiced by Dutch physicians, allying it with traditional Japanese Kampo medicine, which focused on herbal and mineral preparations.

Takenaka Bunpō (竹 中 文 輔) (1766-1836), also known as Takenaka Bisai and Takenaka Nanpō, studied in Kyoto under Wada Tōkaku and specialized in surgical techniques and smallpox treatments.

Acquisition information:
The Japanese medical manuscript notebooks collection was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase in 2012.
Processing information:

Processed by Yoriko Dixon, December 2013

Encoded by Yoriko Dixon, Paula Jeannet, June 2014

Accession(s) described in this finding aid: 2012-0114

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Japanese Medical Manuscript Notebooks, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.

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