Nagata Tokuhon

Dates of birth and death unknown. A physician from the end of the Warring States period to the early Edo period. He was a so-called secret physician, and many parts of his biography and theories are uncertain. His birthplace is unknown, but he was born during the Eisho period (1504-1521) and died during the Kan'ei period (1624-1644), at the age of 117 or 118. His pen names were Chitokusai and Kendou. He was also written as Nagata Tokuhon. He fled the fires of war and traveled around the country, spending the longest time in Kai Province (Yamanashi Prefecture), so he was also called Kai Tokuhon. At first, he studied the Gosei family medical methods that were popular at the time, but he was not satisfied with this and created his own medical theory, insisting that medical theories should be based on those of Zhang Zhongjing of the Later Han Dynasty in China. He taught that illnesses were caused by stagnation and that many were caused by wind and cold, and advocated a treatment method known as sweating, vomiting, purging, and harmony, with the aim of attacking illnesses with highly effective medicines. It can be said that the rules in Zhang Zhongjing's Treatise on Febrile Discourse were first used in Japan at this time. He had his own unique teachings on how to live, and was passionate about correcting the morals of medical practitioners. His works include Inoben and Chisokusai Isho.

[Otori Ranzaburo]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

生没年不詳。戦国時代末期から江戸前期の医家。いわゆる隠医で、伝記、所説とも不確かな部分が多い。出生地は不明だが、永正(えいしょう)年間（1504～1521）に生まれ、寛永(かんえい)年間（1624～1644）に没し、117歳または118歳の長寿であったという。知足斎、乾堂と号す。長田徳本とも書く。戦火を逃れて諸国を巡遊し、その間、甲斐(かい)国（山梨県）にもっとも長く滞留したことから甲斐徳本(かいのとくほん)ともよばれた。初め、当時盛んな後世(ごせい)家医方を学んだが、これに飽き足らず独自の医説をたて、中国後漢(ごかん)の張仲景(ちょうちゅうけい)の医説によるべきことを主張した。疾病は鬱滞(うったい)に起因し、多くは風寒によって発病すると説き、いわゆる汗・吐・下・和の治療法を唱え、作用の激しい薬を用いて病気を攻撃することを主旨とした。張仲景の『傷寒論』のなかの方則はこのとき初めて日本で行われたといえる。独自の処世訓をもち、医家の風俗矯正に熱心であった。『医之弁(いのべん)』『知足斎医鈔(いしょう)』ほかの著作がある。

［大鳥蘭三郎］

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