Herbological Study on the Processing of Ginger
10.3937/kampomed.63.266
- VernacularTitle:生姜・乾姜の修治法に関する史的考察
- Author:
Misato DOUI
;
Masayuki MIKAGE
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
ginger (shokyo);
kankyo preparation;
historical transition
- From:Kampo Medicine
2012;63(4):266-274
- CountryJapan
- Language:Japanese
-
Abstract:
Processing methods for the crude drugs shokyo (fresh ginger) and kankyo (dried ginger) have been different in China and Japan, although the reasons for this have not been clear. In this study, we revealed a historical transition in the processing methods for shokyo and kankyo.
We found that the name shokyo had been used for fresh ginger rhizome in China since the end of the Hou han dynasty. The name had also been used for shokyo in Japan, whereas the term shokyo was then applied to dried ginger in the Japanese pharmacopoeia during the Meiji era. With kankyo, on the other hand, several dif ferent processing methods existed in China. For example, ginger fermented in a ceramic pot after being soaked in running water and dried was called kankyo, and was strongly associated with the property ‘hot’. However, we supposed that simply dried ginger, which has the property ‘warm’, came to be called as kankyo exclusively from the middle of the Qing dynasty. Meanwhile, only ginger dried with lime after being steamed was called kankyo in Japan. We also found that ginger whitened with lime was produced and sold in pharmacies because of a description by Shizhen Li, to the effect that “white ginger has higher quality”. This controversial method has been changed to one without the use of lime since the Meiji era.
