Since 1883 (15th year of Meiji), the number of students desiring to study Kampo medicine gradually began to decline due to the fact that the Meiji government passed a series of new reforms requiring all practicing doctors to obtain an education in Western medicine. As a result, practitioners of Japanese traditional Kampo medicine could not get medical licenses, all but forcing them out of practice. These reforms followed the model set by the Japanese government in which a saturation in Western culture was encouraged at the expense of Japanese tradition. This tendency can be seen even to this day.
However, in his book “Kisso Shoei”, with the exception of surgery, Sohaku Asada notes many instances in internal medicine where better results were obtained with Kampo medicine than with Western medicine. In 1910 (Meiji 43), Keijuro Wada wrote a book entitled “Ikai no Tetsui”, which stressed the importance of Kampo medicine. This book revived interest in Kampo medicine. Dr. Kyushin Yumoto, after graduating from Kanazawa Medical School was so impressed by this book that he became a student of Dr. Wada, spending his entire life in the study and practice of Kampo medicine. In 1927 (Showa 2), after several years of research, he wrote the “Kokan Igaku” in three volumes. This was the first Kampo book in which a mixture of Western medical findings were used to interpret the “Shokanron” and “Kinkiyoryaku” using language familiar to current-day readers. Dr. Yumoto's “Kokan-Igaku” influenced not only the reconstruction of Kampo medicine in our country, but also assisted in the preservation of traditional Chinese medicine.
Although Kampo traditions were upheld by only a few traditional Kampo practitioners and doctors during the first part of the Showa age (1926-1930's), a mood favorable to the return of Kampo was gradually nurtured through various revival movements. By 1936 (Showa 11), new researchers in the Kampo field held the “Kaiko Gakuen Seminar” to promote Kampo, known as the “Takushoku University Kampo Seminar” the following year. This seminar was held eight times until 1944 (Showa 19) at three to four month intervals. In 1949 (Showa 24, after World War II), the 9th seminar was held for 15 days under the title of the “Koryo University Kampo Seminar”. In total more than 700 people were in attendance over the nine seminar period, including several people who would become key figures in the Kampo medical field. (The author, a medical student at the time, was also in attendance at this 9th seminar after the war.)
In 1941 (Showa 16; pre-war), ‘Kampo Shinryo no Jissai’ was published by Nanzando Publishing Company. This book listed the prescriptions of well-known Kampo formulas that were in current use for various disorders by the disease name. It was a step forward in that up until this point the “Sho” or “manifestation-type” the patient exhibited was traditionally used as the primary diagnostic basis for treatment. This was an outstanding commentary for its time. In 1954 (Showa 29) the revised addition was published, and in 1969 (Showa 44), the new edition, “Kampo Shinryo Iten” published by Nanzando was a completely revised version of “Kampo Shinryo no Jissai”. These books, by updating the descriptions of diseases to include the Western medical disease names, enabled physicians to apply these traditional formulas, thereby greatly expanding the modernday usage of Kampo extracts. They also exerted a considerable influence on present-day Kampo medicine.
The first edition of “Kampo shinryo no Jissai” was cowritten by Drs. Keisetsu Otsuka, Domei Yakazu, Chokyu Kimura and Totaro Shimizu. They were truly the core of the Takushoku University Seminar, and as instructors, were directly responsible for the revival of Kampo.
Dr. Chokyu Otsuka became the successor

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Twenty-one cases of patients with chronic gastritis were treated with the Kampo (Japanese herbal medicine) formula Shosaiko-to, for a minimum of six months. The results were that the chief complaints associated with chronic gastritis such as nausea, vomiting, epigastralgia, abdominal discomfort and heartburn were entirely alleviated. Eructaion and fatigue were also almost entirely relieved. However, there was one case where loss of appetite, feeling of abdominal distention and a sloshing sound in the gastric area were exacerbated
Concerning the level of anti-Helicobactor pylori IgG antibody, the level was greatly decreased in 6 out of 17 cases (35.5%). However, among the patients with gastritis superficialis, the level of the antibody against Helicobactor pylori decreased in 4 out of 8 cases (50%).
The endoscopic findings of the stomach showed improvement in all 10 cases of gastritis superficialis. Gastritis atrophicans, however, did not improve with treatment with Shosaiko-to.
These results strongly suggest that Shosaiko-to can be an effective tool in the treatment of chronic gastritis.

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The authors examined the ralationship between ‘Oketsu’ syndrome and multiple cerebral infarction. In the 59 patients (62.8±9.5 years of age; 43 male and 16 female) with multiple cerebral infarction who had undergone MRI examinations, the authors evaluated the ‘Oketsu’ score, DEA (maximum diameter of the column of intravasclar erythrocyte aggregation) and erythrocyte aggregability.
The control group, 18 subjects (61.2±9.3 years of age; 11 male and 7 female) had no findings of cerebral infaction upon MRI examination.
In the patient group, the ‘Oketsu’ score was higher than the control group (P<0.0001) and microcirculation was significantly impaired (P<0.01).
According to localization of foci in the MRI study, the microcircuation was particularly impaired when infarctions occurred in areas controlled by the cortical branches (P<0.05).
Both symptomatic and asymptomatic infarctions presented high ‘Oketsu’ scores and impairment of microcirculation.
Erythrocyte aggregability significantly increased in patients in the multiple infarction symptomatic group (P<0.05). Particulaly, patients suffering from cerebral infarctions in the cortical branches had more severe erythrocyte aggregation.

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In order to evaluate the clinical usefulness of Sairei-to in the treatment of toxemia of pregnancy and to study its influence on the waveform of the umbilical arterial blood flow, a standard curve of the pulsatility index (PI) was constructed for 90 patients in their 19th through 41st weeks of normal pregnancy. A dose of 9.0g/day of Sairei-to was then given to 13 patients with edema (mild toxemia) and 3 patients with severe toxemia. These cases were observed for clinical improvement and changes in the PI. The results were as follows: 1) of the 13 patients with mild toxemia, edema improved in 12 cases (92%), along with a decrease in the PI of all of these cases as a result of administration of this Kampo formula, 2) Regarding the 3 patients with severe toxemia, the clinical usefulness of Sairei-to was not clear. In 2 of these cases, arrest of the endodiastolic velocity was observed 6 to 7 days after the start of administration, making it necessary to perform emergency cesarean sections. These findings suggest that in mild toxemia of pregnancy, due to the hydragogue effect of Sairei-to, alleviation of edema and improvement of the insufficiency of placental blood flow, demonstrated by a decrease in PI, could be expected. In severe toxemia, on the other hand, irreversible change had already occurred in the placenta, and consequently, no positive improvement in the insufficiency of placental blood flow could be expected with the administration of Sairei-to. Thus, administration served only to supplement other treatment methods in this group.

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The patient involved in this study was a 28-year-old male who complained of panic attacks accompanied by palpitations, dyspnea, dizziness and nausea. This condition had been occurring for 18 months, despite treatment with various minor tranquilizers and antidepressants. He fulfilled the DSM-III-R criteria for panic disorder.
The panic attacks improved with treatment with Hangekoboku-to, and the dizziness which persisted even with Hangekoboku-to administration was greatly eased by Ryokeijutsukan-to.
This case exhibited the symptom known in Kampo medicine as ‘Honton’ (a feeling of palpitation spreading upwards from the hypogastrium to the heart, and palpable near the upper and/or lower part of the navel) and study of this case may be significant in elucidating the relationship between panic disorder and the Honton symptom.

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The author treated a 43-year-old woman suffering from generalized eczema with Kampo medicine. During the two months prior to coming to the author's hospital, the patient had been given topical corticosteroids for eruptions with itching in the lower extremities by a local dermatologist. The topical corticosteroids improved her skin lesions, but the effect was temporary. When she stopped using these topical corticosteroids, the eruptions not only recurred, but were larger than before. When she visited this hospital for the first time, exudative erythema and macules were seen over the upper and lower limbs and trunk. The author prescribed Byakko-ka-ninjin-to for her skin lesions. Within two weeks, her erythema and itching had improved, and within four months, her eczema had almost entirely disappeared. One year and seven months later, administration of Kampo was stopped, and there has been no recurrence since she first came for treatment (two years and five months).

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The authors report a case of primary male infertility with Grade I varicocele that responded well to Kampo therapy. The duration of infertility was 8 years. During that time, the authors tried AIH (artificial insemination with husband's semen) 26 times and HIT (hysteroscopic insemination into tube) twice, but both these measures failed. IVF-ET (in vitro fertilization-embryo transter) was then attempted twice. In the first attempt, the authors succeeded in fertilization and cleavage of one of ten extracted eggs, but implantation failed to occur. In the second trial, none of the five eggs extracted were successfully fertilized. The authors then prescribed a combination of Hochuekki-to and Keishibukuryo-gan. Three months later, natural pregnancy occurred that resulted in the birth of a healthy boy by natural delivery. Although the authors have sometimes seen cases of natural pregnancy after the failure of IVF-ET, none of such cases suffered from reduced fertility. Male infertility is frequently involved with cases of decreased fertility. In such cases, success is rarely achieved with ordinary IVF-ET. For this reason, the science of microscopic fertilization is developing rapidly. There is currently no remedy for low fertility. In this type of situation, Kampo may help to improve fertility.

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Acpuncture for infants consists mainly of skin stimulation, thus treatment is very different from that used for adults employing standard acupuncture techniques. Such traditional acupuncture treatment for infants is still popular in the Kansai area, and has been in use since the Edo Era (1600-1868).
In this report, the authors aualyze the social background, main complaints and accompanying symptoms of infants receiving acupuncture treatment.
Of the infants receiving treatment at the acupuncture clinic affiliated with this school, the majority (88.5%) lived within a 15km radius.
The conditions that the infants suffered from were night waking, screaming and other nervous symptoms. Relatives of the patients recommended acupuncture treatment, and in most cases it was the grandparents.
It was suggested that acupuncture treatment was regarded as a common and familiar treatment for maintaining health in infants in the Kansai area of Japan. Thus, it was thought that the popularity of acupuncture for infants in this region could be somewhat attributed to local custom.

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