Once shunned as outdated and unproven, kanpō (Chinese herbal therapy) is currently making a vibrant comeback in Japan.
The original aim of using Chinese herbal treatments, which arrived in Japan around the 5th or 6th century, was to strengthen the body's defences against diseases. The practice not only miraculously survived in the face of modern Western medicine following the 1868 Meiji Restoration, but in the preceding Edo Period (1602-1867), before Japan opened itself to the West, it had also developed some uniquely Japanese techniques, such as fukushin (abdominal diagnosis for herbal treatment).
Now, more and more mainstream hospitals and clinics are taking an interest in the preventive and complementary role kanpō can play in treating patients.