History of Kampo: From Chinese Roots to Japanese Practice

Why history matters here

Kampo is a Japanese tradition with Chinese roots, and its history explains why it looks different from Traditional Chinese Medicine today. The history below comes from review articles by Japanese and international authors. Historical use is not evidence that a formula is safe or effective; for research see Kampo medicine.

Arrival from the Asian mainland

Reviews give slightly different starting points. One says Chinese herbal medicine was first introduced into Japan from China in 552 AD. [1] Another says medicines were brought from China to Japan via the Korean peninsula in the 5th or 6th century. [2] A 2011 review says the administration of crude herbal drug formulations in Japan dates back more than 1500 years. [3]

Japan did not simply copy what arrived. A 2014 review says Japan adopted Chinese knowledge to suit its own climate, and where materials were unavailable it replaced them with Japanese herbs and minerals. [2] It names "Daidoruijuho," written in 808, as the first Japanese medical book, a collection of Japanese traditional therapies. [2] The term "Kampo" itself literally means "method from the Han period" of ancient China. [3]

The Edo period (1603 to 1867)

The Edo period is when Kampo's specific Japanese features took shape. [3] The medicine of Ming China arrived early in the period and spread widely (the Gosei school). Japanese doctors then argued for dropping Ming theory and returning to the Han-era texts Shang Han Lun and Jin Gui Yao Lue. [2] The physician Todo Yoshimasu (1702 to 1773) held that treatment could be chosen once a set of patterns was identified, a principle still called "matching of pattern and formula." [2]

A 2004 article says Yoshimasu even suggested that the concept of yin-yang was irrelevant, though that attitude never became orthodox. [4] Yoshimasu also relied on abdominal palpation, which still influences Kampo today. [3] The same review says the thousands of Chinese crude drugs were reduced to about 300, combined into about 300 prescriptions. [3] Of the three Edo schools described (Gosei, Koho and a blended Setchu school), the Koho school influenced current practice most. [2]

Kampo doctors also met European medicine in this period. Toyo Yamawaki studied anatomy from a European book in 1754, and Seishu Hanaoka (1761 to 1835) performed surgery under general anesthesia in 1804, using Kampo mainly for internal medicine and European methods for surgery. [2]

Meiji reforms and decline

After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the new government set out to modernize along European lines. [2] One review says the 1874 Medical Care Law adopted the German model and that Kampo practitioners were no longer recognized as official medical professionals. [2] Another dates the rule that all physicians must study Western medicine to 1876, and says Kampo was not forbidden but greatly inhibited and gradually declined. [3] (The two reviews give different years for related measures.)

Not every Kampo product left the record. A 2025 historical study of rhubarb shows that even identifying the plant behind a Kampo ingredient was confused over centuries, and that rhubarb was later registered in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia. [5]

Revival in the 20th century

After the Second World War, the first modern Kampo specialists carried on Edo-period traditions. [3] A 2014 review names physicians Kyushin Yumoto (1876 to 1941), Keisetsu Otsuka (1900 to 1980) and Domei Yakazu (1905 to 2002) as key figures in the revival. [2] To survive, Kampo was made more practical, and the "matching of pattern and formula" approach made it more appealing to physicians trained only in Western medicine. [2]

The first four Kampo formulas were approved for national insurance coverage by 1967. [2] Another review dates the insurance drug list entry to 1971 and says Kampo regained official attention around 1970. [3][1] These dates differ by source; this page reports each as the source states it. The Japan Society for Oriental Medicine was founded in 1950. [2]

What history does not show

Age is not proof. Nothing in these historical accounts measures whether a formula works. For how researchers weigh tradition against trials see historical use vs clinical evidence, and for Korea's parallel story see history of Korean medicine and the Donguibogam.

Who should seek conventional care first

A history page cannot guide treatment. See a clinician for sudden or worsening symptoms, pregnancy, liver or kidney disease and for children, and tell every provider about any herbal product. [6]