Pharmacist - Kusushi

An old name for a doctor. The character "I" (medicine) appears in the entry for the 3rd year of Emperor Ingyō (413) in the "Nihon Shoki," and the character "medicine" (medicine) appears in the entry for the 14th year of Emperor Kinmei (553). The two gods, Onamuchi and Sukunahikona, are called medicine gods and are considered the origins of Japanese medicine. The first person to be called Yakushi was Enichi, who studied medicine in Sui in the early 7th century during the reign of Empress Suiko, and was awarded the title of Dainin when he returned to Japan. Later, Yakushi Enichi was sent as the first Japanese envoy to the Tang Dynasty together with Inugami Mitasuki in 630 (Emperor Jomei 2), and his descendants were given the surname of Naniwa no Muraji in 758 (Tenpyo Hoji 2), and since then, doctors have generally been called Yakushi. There were official doctors, monk doctors, and private doctors, and in addition to medicinal doctors, the term also included incantation doctors and acupuncturists. The origin of the word Yakushi is unclear, and the most likely theory is that it is a noun derived from the transitive verb "kususu," which means "to use medicine."

[Noh Sato]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

医者の古称。『日本書紀』允恭(いんぎょう)天皇3年（413）の条に「医」の文字がみえ、同じく欽明(きんめい)天皇14年（553）の条に「薬物」の文字があるが、大己貴(おおなむち)・少彦名(すくなひこな)の2神を薬師の神とよび、日本医道の祖とされている。初めて薬師とよばれたのは、推古(すいこ)朝7世紀初頭、隋(ずい)に渡って医術を学び、帰国して大仁(だいにん)に叙せられた恵日(えにち)で、その後、薬師恵日は630年（舒明天皇2）犬上御田鍬(いぬがみのみたすき)とともに最初の遣唐使として派遣され、子孫は758年（天平宝字2）難波連(なにわのむらじ)の姓を賜り、以後、医者を一般に薬師とよぶようになった。官医、僧医、民間医の別があって、薬医者のほか呪(のろ)い医者や鍼灸(しんきゅう)医をも含めてよんだが、薬師の語源はさだかでなく、「薬を用いる」の他動詞「くすす」の名詞化説が有力視されている。

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