Abstract
Objective: This study compares the current status of traditional medicine in China, Japan, and Korea, focusing on the types of formulations used and periods during which they were first formulated.
Methods: Six official textbooks used by traditional medical doctors in China were surveyed. Two textbooks used in universities of Korean medicine in Korea were examined. The formulations for prescriptions and over-the-counter Kampo medicine in Japan were analyzed. Regarding the books containing the listed formulations, the eras in which they were published were identified and compared.
Results: In China and Korea, the formulations created in each era were used evenly. However, in Japan, a high proportion of formulations included in the textbooks Shanghanlun and Jinguiyaolue written during the Han dynasty, but not formulations created in the Qing dynasty and later periods, were used.
Conclusion: The types of traditional medicine formulations currently used in Japan differ from those used in China and Korea, and are influenced by the Koho school which emphasizes the empirical use of medications described in the Shanghanlun and Jinguiyaolue.
