What is Kempo
Kampo is a system of herbal diagnosis and prescription that has evolved in Japan in an unbroken lineage since the 6th CE. The origins of the initial textual materials and inter-personal transmission derived from Han Dynasty China, hence the term "Kampo" meaning "The Han Method". Indeed, many contemporary Kampo practitioners still refer to the system as "Classical Chinese Herbology".
Lineage
There are still many Classical style herbalists practicing throughout East Asia, not only in Japan but also Korea, Taiwan and surprisingly large numbers in mainland China (mostly pre-TCM trained more than 50 years ago). This style is also well represented amongst many in the West, notably some of the "seniors" amongst us who also had a non-TCM style training such as Dan Bensky, Craig Mitchell, Michael Max, Sharon Weisenbaum, and others. My own teacher, Gretchen De Soriano, who studied with Otsuka Yasuo, son of the late Otsuka Keisetsu, and a handful of my contemporaries who studied in Japan in the 1980's represent a particular lineage of Kampo practice deriving from the Classical Chinese School, founded on the work of Zhang Zhong Jing, author of the "Shang Han Za Bing Lun", still acknowledged as the most influential Herbal text in the entire historical canon of East Asian Medicine.
There are 2 main distinguishing features of Kampo as I see it
Evidence Based Diagnosis
One of the main distinguishing features of Kampo compared to TCM is the a profound emphasis on sensory data based on palpation where the abdominal exam plays a far greater clinical role than pulse-taking.
The formula is prescribed according to a concise presentation of signs and symptoms which specifically correspond to each individual formula. The formula itself thus operates as both a diagnostic characterization of the patients and their condition as well as the treatment entity that exactly corresponds to both.
The prescription method in Kampo is linked very closely to the evidence the praticioner finds rather than on a theoretical paradigm.
Formula Based
The formula is prescribed according to a concise presentation of signs and symptoms which specifically correspond to each individual formula. In this system,
Formulas are rarely modified both in their composition, proportional dosing and clinical application.
As in the classics, prescription methodology hinges on the skills of identifying the exact nature of the patient's condition and constitution to match an already existing treatment unit that most closely matches them - the classical formulation.
quite a number of original formulas written by Japanese Kampo practitioners mostly during the Edo period form a significant part of the formula repertory alongside those from the Shang Han un and Jing Gui Yao Lue.
Kampo in Modern Japan
Kampo formulas are available to patients under national government health plans and thus form an intrinsic part of contemporary Japanese health delivery system.
In contemporary Japan, Kampo formulas are licensed and distributed in the same manner as ethical drugs and most medical schools throughout the country have Kampo departments with clinical, research and teaching activities.
The delivery methods have evolved with technology to include freeze-dried concentrated extracts rived from the traditional water decoction method. contemporary Japan, Kampo formulas are licensed and distributed in the same manner as ethical drugs and most medical schools throughout the country have Kampo departments with clinical, research and teaching activities.
Low Dosage
Dosing, though unchanged proportionally in the classical formulas, is nonetheless significantly smaller than in contemporary TCM herbal practice