抄録
Koan Ogata（1810-1863）, the founder of Tekijuku, was a physician who contributed much to the medical profession through his knowledge of western medicine late in the Edo period. Some of his belongings included two medicine chests（Koan's Medical Chests, KMCs）: the first chest was used in late-middle ages and the second chest was used in his last years. We investigated the contents of the chests non-invasively and considered possibilities regarding his medical practice.
Traditional forms of pills and crude drugs used in Asia were found in the first chest and some Westernstyle formulations were found in the second one. We prepared a database of historical crude drugs collected by Osaka University in the 1920 s-1950 s. We found that historical crude drugs and medical documents of Asia and/or Western countries respectively formed clusters by correspondence analysis. It seems that Ogata did his best using all of the knowledge he gained, including both traditional Japanese medicine and imported Western medicine, for treating unknown diseases. To know his medical strategy will be helpful clues for us in terms of determining medication for emerging infections. Namely, KMCs reflect his knowledge and experiences in the field of medicine.
Finding new wisdom through old things is an old idiom in Asia. I hope we can embody this idiom through our projects.
