Kampo: Prominent Figures

Zhang Zhongjing

(150-219 AD) Han Dynasty

Zhang Zhongjing is considered one of the most influential practitioners in Chinese Medicine. His methods and principles are still dominant in today’s Traditional Chinese Medicine and have been incorporated into Japanese medicine. Zhang Zhongjing’s Six Stages of Diseases play a large role in the diagnostic process in Kampo. His greatest works include Shanghan Lun and Jingui Yaolue.

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Waichi Sugiyama

(1610-1694) Mie Prefecture.

Waichi Sugiyama is known as the greatest acupuncturist in Japan History. A blind acupuncturist, Sugiyama is credited for saving acupuncture from a great decline. He is credited for creating a pain-free device called the guide-tube, kudabari. This device allows for precise and accurate insertion. With his success, he became the founder of the first acupuncture school for the blind, Shinji Koushujo, and has opened many across Japan.

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Sugita Genpaku
(1733-1817) Qing Dynasty.

A well-known Japanese scholar that helped introduce Western medicine into Japan. He was able to be present at an anatomical dissection in which he noticed a Dutch book filled with picture and words. He decided to translate the medical texts from Dutch to Japanese. His book Kaitai-shinsho (meaning New Book of Anatomy) was one of the first translated medical texts in Japan. For 100 years Western Medicine became the dominant medical system.

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