Toyo Yamawaki

Japanese: 山脇東洋 - やまわき・とうよう

Year of death: August 8, 1762 (September 25, 1762)
Year of birth: 18th December 1706 (1st February 1706)
A doctor in the mid-Edo period. His given name was Shotoku, and his pen names were Genhi, Shiju, commonly known as Dosaku, initially Izan, and later Toyo. His father was Shimizu Tachian, and his mother was from the Komai clan. He was born in Kyoto. His biological father Tachian studied medicine under Yamawaki Genshu. Toyo's talent was recognized, and in 1726, he was adopted by Genshu. His adoptive grandfather, Yamawaki Genshin, was a disciple of Manase Gensaku, and was a renowned physician who became a physician at the Imperial Court, was appointed as a Hoin, and was given the title of Yojuin by imperial decree. His adoptive father, Genshu, was Genshin's adopted heir, and advanced to the rank of Hokan. The year after Toyo was adopted, Genshu died, and the year after that Toyo inherited the family headship. In 1724, he was appointed as a Hokan and inherited the title of Yojuin. Thus, his first medical teacher was his foster father Genshu, whose teachings can be traced back to Naose Gensaku. His second medical teacher was Goto Konzan, who is considered the founder of the Koho school of medicine. Toyo was a disciple of Konzan in his final years, and he learned well from Konzan's spirit of empirical study, which led to his unprecedented attempt at human dissection and to the reevaluation of Shanghan Lun. On leap February 7, 1754 (4th year of the Horeki era), he obtained official permission to perform an autopsy on the corpse of a prisoner who had been executed at Rokkaku Prison in Kyoto. The surgeon was a horse and cattle butcher, but the corpse was headless, and the diagrams were drawn by his disciple Asanuma Saei. A record of this dissection was published in the 9th year of the same year as Zoji. Since the dissection was performed under such conditions, there are obvious defects in the dissection compared to current anatomical knowledge, but "Zoshi" vividly conveys the state of this first dissection, including some experimental procedures, as seen in the following passage: "The right lung has two folds, and the left lung has one fold. When a tube is blown into the airway, both lungs become distended and become fresh and luscious, resembling the wings of a cicada." His own writings are limited to "Yojuin Isho" and "Zoshi," but other well-known works include "Toyo Rakugo," "Toyo Sensei Hokan," and "Yojuin Idan," which were compiled by his disciples. He also reprinted "Gaitai Hyoho." His medical knowledge was passed down by his successor Tomon, his disciples Nagatomi Dokushoan, Kuriyama Bunchu, and others. <References> Otsuka Yasuo, "Yamawaki Toyo" ("Collection of Early Modern Chinese Medicine Books," Vol. 13)

(Yoshio Otsuka)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：宝暦12.8.8(1762.9.25)
生年：宝永2.12.18(1706.2.1)
江戸中期の医者。名は尚徳,字は玄飛,子樹,通称道作,はじめ移山,のち東洋と号した。父は清水立安,母は駒井氏。京都生まれ。実父立安は山脇玄修の門で医学を修めた。東洋はその才を買われ,享保11(1726)年,玄修の養子となる。養祖父に当たる山脇玄心は曲直瀬玄朔の弟子で,禁裏の侍医となり,法印に叙せられ,勅命により養寿院の院号を賜った名医であり,養父の玄修は玄心の養嗣子で,法眼に進んだ。東洋が養子となった翌年,玄修は没し,その翌年家督を継いだ。享保14年には法眼に叙せられ,養寿院の称号をも継いだ。したがって医学における最初の師は養父玄修であり,その学統は曲直瀬玄朔にまでさかのぼることができる。医学上の第2の師は古方派の学祖とされる後藤艮山である。東洋は艮山の最晩年の門人であったが,その実証精神をよく学び,一方では前人未到の人体解剖の挙につながり,一方では『傷寒論』の再評価にとつながっていった。宝暦4(1754)年閏2月7日官許を得て,京都六角獄舎で処刑された囚人の死体について解剖を行った。執刀は牛馬の屠者によったが,死体は頭部がなく,図は門人の浅沼佐盈が描いた。この折の記録は『蔵志』として同9年に刊行された。このような条件下での解剖であるから,現在の解剖学の知識からすれば欠陥が目立つが,『蔵志』は「右肺は襞二つ,左肺は襞一つ。管を以て気道を吹けば,則ち両肺は皆怒張し,鮮沢なること蝉翼に似たり」にみられるように,一部実験的操作をも加えながら,このはじめての解剖のありさまを生々しく伝えている。自身の著書は『養寿院医則』と『蔵志』があるにすぎないが,門人の編録になる『東洋洛語』『東洋先生方函』『養寿院医談』なども知られている。『外台秘要方』の翻刻も行っている。その医学は嗣子東門や,門弟永富独嘯庵,栗山文仲らによって継承されていった。<参考文献>大塚恭男「山脇東洋」(『近世漢方医学書集成』13巻)

(大塚恭男)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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