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submissions to | Home > Reviews > Japanese Herbal Medicine, Healing Art of Kampo |
Japanese Herbal Medicine, Healing Art of Kampo |
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By Robert Rister Reviewed by Karen S Vaughan I am most enthusiastic about Robert Rister's new book, "Japanese Herbal Medicine: The Healing Art of Kampo". While I am not a practitioner of Kampo and cannot judge his portrayal of that system, Rister has written an excellent book for those trying to bridge their understanding of Asian and western herbal databases. My favorite part is the materia medica of 157 herbs and medicinal substances, organized by English common name, with Japanese names in parentheses and an appendix with Chinese, Korean, pharmaceutical and botanical Latin names and additional identification and dosage data. One can find that Mang xiao (mirabilitum) is Epsom salts or that Kuan Dong Hua (Flos tussalago) is coltsfoot, for instance. The English name is frequently the Chinese or Latin name if that is the prevalent usage. Alternate names are indexed within the materia medica's alphabetical listing with references to the proper heading. Up to date research on the herbs is presented in clear English, combining new knowledge with traditional uses. Extensive references are in an appendix. I spent several hours cross referencing this book with Bensky's Materia Medica and added as much from one book as to the other. The Kampo book tends not to include animal products used in Chinese medicine, as well as herbs used primarily in external application or against parasites, which accounts for its smaller database. But it includes the most important herbs used in Chinese and Japanese medicine. The book is not organized by Chinese medicinal categories, although functions and indications are described in the text. It does not have a list of tastes, temperatures and channels, but parts of the body affected and organoleptic qualities are included in the text. One annoyance is the lack of a separate multilingual medicinal substance index, but the general index includes herbs by Japanese and English names. Occasionally I had to look up an herb in Bensky, check its Japanese name and refer to the index. And when Chinese names are used, occasionally Wade Giles is used (eg: tang kwei). As such it is a good adjunct book rather than one's major materia medica.
One major criticism is that I was not always certain that the research referred to the botanical species used most prevalently in Japanese (and Chinese) medicine. And one listing might be given for several parts of a species- like Lotus root, leaf, seed-receptacle, stamen, seed and sprout with the text addressing the various strengths. Like most other materia medicas it lacks information on endangered species, cruelty (though few animal products are included) or modern substitutes like Serrulata sheng ma/black cohosh or Typhonium ban xia/pinellia. There are sections on formulas, diseases organized by western name with differential diagnosis within the disease discussions, sources of Kampo goods and services and 65 pages of references. And the book is only $19.95 list price. Avery Publishing Group. Paperback. Karen Vaughan |
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