Two brush & ink drawings in the text. 89 folding leaves. 8vo (190 x 127 mm.), orig. wrappers (wrappers somewhat frayed), orig. stitching. [Japan?: mid-Edo].

A most interesting and extensive manuscript on acupuncture and moxibustion, divided into seven parts. Based on WorldCat and Kyoto University’s manuscript with the same title, we can attribute the authorship of these texts to Chishin Tanaka, a physician of the early Edo period.

The first four parts (“East,” “West,” “South,” “North”; 17, 17, 25, 12 leaves, respectively) are devoted to general principles of acupuncture and moxibustion. In each of these parts, many symptoms and case... More

Two parts in one vol. 25, 13 folding leaves. 8vo (198 x 135 mm.), orig. wrappers (rubbed), old stitching. [Japan]: at the beginning of each part & on final leaf (in trans.): “Oyo [today, Nagoya] retired doctor Tokei [or] Tokoku Yoshida copied 6 June 1767.”

The first part provides a detailed explanation of the theory and practice of acupuncture, concentrating on 28 different ways to use the needle. At the end of this part, there is a most interesting discussion of Zi Wu Liu zhu [The Midnight-Noon Ebb-Flow Acupuncture Method], which is used as a theoretical guide to determine whether... More

45 woodcut illus. in the text. 29 folding leaves. Three vols. in one. Large 8vo, orig. wrappers (rather rubbed, some light dampstaining), remains of block-printed title label on upper cover, modern stitching. [Kyoto]: Osumi Seibei, [Foreword dated 1311, colophon dated 1675].

The third edition — preceded by an undated early 17th-century undated edition and a 1659 edition — of this collection of dissertations on moxibustion and acupuncture. It concerns moxibustion treatment for adults and children with 36 pictures of adults and nine of children, illustrating the locations of acupuncture points with explanations of efficacies. This edition is notable for presenting... More

Several woodcut illus. in the text. 25 vols. Folio (346 x 230 mm.), orig. wrappers (rubbed & several with some wear, three vols. with some staining, occasional minor foxing), orig. stitching. [Hansŏng]: [colophon in Vol. 2 dated 1634].

Second edition (1st ed.: 1613) of a very great rarity, “the greatest of all Korean medical treatises, [which] devotes its last chapters to acupuncture and moxibustion.”–Lu & Needham, Celestial Lancets, p. 263n. It is considered to have one of the finest classification systems in traditional East Asian medicine.

Hŏ Chun (1539/46-1615), was a court physician of the Yangcheon Hŏ clan during the... More

Eight full-page drawings & one illus. in the text. 17 folding leaves. 8vo (243 x 165 mm.), orig. blue semi-stiff wrappers (some dampstaining to upper portion of each leaf). [Japan: mid-Edo].

Kagawa (1683-1755), a member of the medical family dynasty, studied in Kyoto with Ryozan Goto and Jinsai Ito, from whom he learned moxibustion and the therapeutic value of the waters of hot springs. Kagawa established the successful Ippondo medical school and was one of the most enthusiastic practitioners of moxibustion of his time. There is another manuscript of this text at Kyoto University, attributed to Kagawa. Some of the... More

15 full-page woodcut illus. 23; 31 folding leaves. Two vols. 8vo, orig. semi-stiff wrappers (wrappers somewhat wormed), title-slips on upper covers, new stitching. Kyoto: Akitaya Tōbei 秋田屋藤兵衛, 1778.

First edition of this very rare work on Chinese medicine, based on a series of lectures by Minamoto, who was probably a Kyoto physician. His disciples gathered their notes and published the present book, an introduction to traditional Chinese medicine (known in Japan as kanpo) and its slow transformation into autonomous Japanese medicine

The 24 types of pulse and their significance are described, and the differences of pulse in men and... More

(title at beginning of text) [or] Shinsen ryōyaku zukai Nichiyō ryōba iben 新選良薬図解日用療馬医便 [Convenient Readings in Equine Medicine for Daily Use, with Illustrations & Explanations and Newly Selected Helpful Medicines] (title on title-slips). 16 full-page woodcut illus. 32.5; 32.5; 31 folding leaves. Three vols. 8vo, orig. semi-stiff wrappers, orig. title-slips (partially worn off), new stitching. Edo & Kyoto: Nishimura Genroku 西村源六 & Nishimura Ichirōemon 西村市郎右衛門, 1758.

First edition of this rare work on horse medicine. We find no copy of this edition in WorldCat in North America and only one copy of the 1849 edition.

Tokugawa Japan had... More