Japan is now faced with the highest population of aged persons it has ever experienced in its history. This has brought about a financial crisis in the National Health Insurance program. It has become impossible to discuss health maintenance, medicine and welfare without bringing in national policy and economic issues. The present confused status of the medical system in Japan means that the Classical era has ended for this system, and a new phase has begun.
In this paper, the author attempted to review the past history of Kampo medicine, especially around the Meiji era when Kampo medicine was eliminated from the medical education system. The author then analyzed the present situation and problems, and discussed the future of Kampo medicine.

Modern Western medicine made rapid progress in the last century. The theory of modern Western medicine attaches importance to universality, objectivity, and logic. Consequently, Western physicians favor a body-oriented approach to the human being, and sometimes place a minimal value on the mental status and quality of life (QOL) of patients. In Oriental (Kampo) medicine, the human being is regarded as an entity consisting of body, soul and spirit, and patient complaints are usually highly valued. The development of new medicine that harmonizes both medicines is now required. In this article, initially the efficacy and limitations of each style of medicine in patients with influenza, Sjögren syndrome, chronic renal failure, chronic C hepatitis, and atherosclerosis are discussed, and the potential benefit from combining these disciplines to form new medicine was outlined. Secondly, N-of-1 design and double blind study after selection of patients by Kampo diagnosis, “Sho”, are proposed as methods for evaluating the efficacy of Kampo medicine.

Historically, modern Western medicine has developed with the natural science which is based on element reduction theory. On the other hand, Kampo medicine recognizes human beings as a whole, which has cumulated empirical knowledge based on the “Sho” concept. This lecture intends to make clear both the meaning of the “Sho” concept in the field of medicine, problems which we have to overcome in the future, and then propose ways to develop the “Sho” concept as a holistic medical system.

The author has attempted to reveal the evolution behind the great Chinese classic “Shokanron”, through historical study. Results suggest that it originally evolved from human anatomical trials in the Xin Dynasty (AD 16). Subsequently, some person or persons engaged in these anatomical trials created a new standard, i. e. verification. This newly developed school created the methodology for describing clinical cases, according to a standard format. The followers of this school then accumulated clinical case studies over several generations, with Chochukei finally compiling “Shokanron” (AD 200). In this classic, Chochukei put forth the theory of six disease stages, and presented a manual for acute febrile disease treatment.

Modern Kampo medicine is mainly based on a restoration of ancient Chinese medicine which occurred in the Edo period in Japan. This historical event rose under the influence of a Confucian renaissance, resulting the exclusion of metaphysics. This report intends to clarify the correlation between these two new cultural movements, and to outline the characteristics of Kampo medicine from a historical perspective.