Classified Assemblage of Prescriptions
類聚方
Author: Yoshimasu Todo
吉益東洞
Year: 1764
Country: Japan
Classified Assemblage of Prescriptions contains 113 herbal prescriptions based on Shanghanlun (Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases) and Jinguiyaolue (Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber). The author, Todo Yoshimasu, is considered to be one of the most influential figures in the history of Kampo medicine. Known for his positivistic Kampo approach, Yoshimasu was known as willing to accept and use any technique so long as it proved clinically effective, regardless of the surrounding theories or its particular philosophical background. Although Yoshimasu made some controversial claims and often performed controversial treatments, he is most credited for his work in developing the Kampo abdominal diagnosis. His abdominal diagnostic theories and practices not only became one of the most integral parts of today’s Kampo, but they are also commonly credited with differentiating Kampo from Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Although various abdominal diagnoses were originally described in Chinese medical classics such as Shanghanlun and Nan Jing (Classic of Difficult Issues), this specific method had long been abandoned in China.