Use of fetal Sika deer (lutai) in the folk pharmacopeia of Japan

Abstract

A literature survey on the use of lutai (fetal Sika deer, Cervus nippon) yielded 128 references in the literature (108 from Japan and 20 from mainland China and Taiwan). Lutai was first used as a medicine among some highly-ranked samurai in the early 17th century. In the early 19th century (late Edo period), lutai was believed to be an efficacious remedy for women with sickness following childbirth. In the late 19th century and the early 20th century (from the end of the Edo period to the Meiji-Taisho period), medical practices were widely published and the use of lutai became popular among ordinary Japanese people. In the mid-19th century (the early Meiji period), at least 27,000–40,000 pieces of lutai were produced in Hokkaido, mostly for domestic and international trade. Some lutai was also produced in Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. The commercial value of lutai varied considerably among regions and over time. It is probable that targeted hunting of pregnant female deer prevailed in regions where lutai had a high commercial value, which could be a cause of the severe population decline of Sika deer in Japan during the Meiji-Taisho period.