2010 Volume 6 Issue 1 Pages 11-21
During the isolation period in the Edo era, cultural exchange between Japan and U.S.A. is considered to have been less than that with other European and Asia countries. After Japan opened diplomatic relations, those two countries became the most influential countries in politics, economics and culture. The history of Japanese books kept at Yale University Beinecke Rare Book Library was started by Kan’ichi Asakawa（1873－1948）, who brought Japanese old books to the Library of Congress and Yale University. There are few old medical books in these libraries, but they have “Youjoukun” and “Kaitaishinsho-doubanzenzu”.
Harvey Cushing John Whitney Medical Library, which is Medical Library of Yale University, has the Clements C. Fry Collection. That collection contains “Inshoku Youjou Kagami”, a Nishikie style Ukiyoe print, and ten printings from “Byoka Suchi” by Jyumei Hirano as Japanese medical reference. These are the only Japanese prints in the Fry Collection, which is composed of about 2000 prints and drawings focused on the last 500 years medical history of the world.
Herein I discuss the Fry Collection, focusing on understanding of old Japanese Medicine.
Similar 11 prints are kept in Juntendo University Yamazaki Bunko.
