Chinese medicine that saw rapid development since the writing of Yellow Emperor’s Canon of Internal Medicine (Hunagti Neiching, 黃帝內經) greatly influenced Korea and then Japan, firmly establishing its dominant position in the East Asian world. However, as sciences of the west were gradually imparted to East Asia, medical topography was changing little by little as well. It was Japan that actively accommodated Western medicine. During Edo Japan, many interpretation officers played an active part for exchanges with influential merchants from the Netherlands and the resultant compilation of Kaitai Shinsho(解體新書) in 1774 made anatomy of the West introduced to the nation in earnest. Thereafter, starting with anatomy, westernization of Japanese medicine rapidly unfolded in the nation.
Accommodation of Western anatomy was enabled by the development of empirical medicine and resulting practice of dissection. Two decades before the compilation of Kaitai Shinsho, the first dissection was made in Japan and five years later, Zoshi(藏志) was published by Yamawaki Toyo(山脇東洋), triggering great controversy over dissection in the nation’s medical world. It was very meaningful in that it raised a question about positivity of traditional medicine, namely, the Theory of Visceras and Bowels(藏象論), and made a verification of it.
Dissection of the human body that started with Yamawaki Toyo’s book was faced with criticisms from Sano Yassada(佐野安貞) and through his publication of Hi Zoshi(非藏志) and others on one hand but it led to practice of dissection itself on the other hand. Sixteen years later a second dissection was performed by Kawaguchi Shinnin(河口信任) and Kaishihen(解屍編) was complied by him. Thereafter, western medicine was rapidly accommodated by the nation through successive dissections, publications of anatomy books, and translations of western anatomy books, and through the Meiji Restoration(明治維新) the medical world was reorganized into one centered on western medicine.
Modern anatomy of the West was widely introduced to East Asia and at the same time Japan led a cultural attitude to massively accept Western sciences through translations. Such academic climate, which was literally called Dutch learning(蘭學, Ran Gaku), made Japan reflect itself from Western perspectives and transformed East Asia’s medieval world view, knowledge system, and medical thoughts.