1 Present Status and Prospect of Ayurvedan In
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Ancient science of life Vol: XX1(4) April / 2002 Pages 218 - 229 PRESENT STATUS AND PROSPECT OF AYURVEDAN IN JAPAN Kazuo UEBABA International Research Center for Traditional Medicine of Toyama Prefecture Received: 18. 12. 2001 Accepted: 12.02.2002 HISTORY OF AYURVEDA IN JAPAN History of Ayurveda in Japan went back to School of Okayama University, thereafter he the 6th centuary, when Buddhism brought cooperated with B. Hatai as the Vice Ayurveda as Buddhism medicine to Japan. President of Research Institute of Oriental Since then Japanese people have had learned Medicine (RITOM) to start to devote his life Indian customs, that may be the reason why for the popularization of genuine Ayurveda there are similar customs with Ayurveda or in Japan. He wrote many books on Yoga, or Japanese language had Sanskrit Ayurveda. Vaidya H. Imamura also wrote words such as Danna for a husband or seva books on Ayurveda and started her institute for caring. In Edo era, some physician in 1986 in Osaka In 1988, Maharishi practiced oil massage in southern islands or Ayurveda was introduced to Japan. Its first Japan, However Ayurveda was not so students were K. Takahashi and K. Uebaba. popularized as Kampo medicine introduced In a few years, M. Hasumura and other from china. Kampo medicine reached its students studied Masharishi Ayurveda under summit of prosperity in Edo or Meiji era. the guidance of Dr. Raju and other teachers On the other hand, Ayurveda could not gain of Maharishi Ayurveda Association in Japan full attention until 1970, when the past in 1992 under the support of Maharishi professor of Osaka University H.Maruyama institute in Japan. In 1994, Research and his colleagues such as B. Hatai and Institute of Oriental medicine started the T.Nanba visited India. Then they wondered teaching programs of Ayurveda, Self care at humanistic and systematic, holistic system course and specialist course. The main of Ayurveda practiced in Gujarat Ayurveda lecturer was U.K.. Krishna supported by B. University. After they came back to Japan, Hatai, Y. Katou, K. Takahashi, M. they founded Research association of Nishikawa and U. Uebaba. Ayurvedic Ayurveda in Japan, and started to publish practices have been also started in Hatai the annual journal “Studies on Ayurveda in Clinic, Okamoto Memorial Clinic and Japan”. In a few years, B. Hatai founded the Maharishi Tachikawa clinic in 1990s. These Research Institute of Traditional Oriental clinics were for outpatients. The clinics for medicine (RITOM) & Hatai clinic, and long stay were also started in Nasu and started integrated treatment of western and Nihonmatsu in 1998. In 1999, Research oriental medicine. I 1976 H. Imamura went association of Ayurveda in Japan developed to India and studied the authorized course of to change its name to Japanese Association Ayurveda in Gujarat Ayurveda University. of Ayurvedic Research in order to get more She finished the post graduate as well as the members and social recognition. In the full 5 years course as the first Japanese same year, international center for woman. In 1980s Krishna U>K. came to Traditional Medicine has been opened in Japan to take a Ph degree in the Medical Toyama Prefecture. It is the first official 1 pages 218 - 229 center in Japan for the researches on the were many aesthetic salons, which have traditional medicines in the world. Its introduced one of aspects of Ayurveda. activity was focused on the physiological However, there are still few hospitals for researches on the traditional medicines residential treatments with ayurvedic care of including Ayurveda. In the first year of the long enough. 21st century RITOM has succeded to establish the authorized educational system B) Cultivation of Indian Herbs under the guidance of Gujarat Ayurveda The climate of India is so different from University. As one of foreign branches of Japan that it is very difficult to cultivate the university, it was named “Ayurveda Indian herbs in Japan. However, Mr. Ooya School in Japan”, The first principal of the has been trying to overcome such Ayurveda School of Japan was Dr. Krishna troublesome problems for over 20 years. He U.K. who finished the postgraduate course has successded to cultivate some important of the Gujarat Ayurveda University. Indian herbs, such as Ashvaghanda and Tulsi in northern part of Japan, Hukushima PPRESENT STATUS OF AYURVEDA Prefecture. He uses closed nylon house for IN JAPAN keeping warm in the house even in cold winter seasons. Three aspects of popularization of Ayurveda, Education, Clinics, research are C) Import of Ayurvedic Goods into Japan not going in Japan. Adding that, importing As Ayurveda got popular, people wanted to businesses of Indian herbs or goods are also have Ayurvedic goods, especially, needed in Japan in order to make Ayurveda Ayurvedic herbs, herbal oils and rasayanas. more common. I will explain about these Owing to legal regulation by Japanese four aspects in sequence. government, some of goods are not able to be imported to Japan. However, some 1. Education of Ayurveda in Japan companies have succeeded to deal with Ayurvedic goods such as herbal products, Table 2 shows the outline of faculties for and to import to Japan. They are importing education of Ayurveda in Japan. These them as foods or miscellaneous goods to programs should be divided into one for pass the legal regulation. According to layman and another for specialists. The Ayurvedic concept “food and drug is same”, duration of education is different depending there must be no problems to import them to on the faculties. Japan Ayurveda School Japan. Another special good is a soil and Yoga Niketan of Japan have the direct amendment which is made from Neem. and intimate relationship with authorized Indian faculties. Yoga Niketan of Japan is The Original products of Ayurveda made in providing authorized scientific programs. Japan are some herbal teas. The special one is machine for ayurvedic treatment. Japan is 2.Clinics one of the highly developed industrial countries. It is easy to make machines for A) Clinical practice of Ayurveda in Japan Japanese. We have developed some In recent 10 years, many clinics or institutes machines for Ayurvedic treatments such as have been established in Japan, Dental shirodhara and Swedana. We call then clinics also use Ayurveda for oral health. ‘Healing robots’. These machines are Other facilities than shown in the table 3 necessary for the scientific researches, 2 pages 218 - 229 however, they can save technicians and they cases. After answering questions, all of 194 can practice the treatments more safely and cases had the examinations such as blood sometimes more comfortably. In the near pressure, body weight, height and blood future these healing robots will be exported drawing the statistics were conducted by one to India in turn. way ANOVA. 3. Researches BMI (body mass index) was different among these three types, kapha type had the largest There are few researches on going, nor few BMI and Vata type had the smallest BMI research faculties in Japan. In 1980s (Fig1). Serum free fatty acid (FFA) is a Professor Kenji Tazawa has started the very sensitive parameters of fat metabolism. clinical researches on Kushara Sutra under Comparing FFA of three types showed vata the guidance of professor pirapithia form type had the largest FFA value, while Kapha surilanka, recommended by professor T. type had the smallest FFA (Fig.2) which Nanba. And in 1990s since Maharishi supported the Ayurvedic principle that Ayurveda was introduced into Japan some Kapha type had the tendency to keep fat. researches on Ayurveda were added under On the other hand, Pitta vikriti had the the financial support of the Japanese largest serum direct bilirubin concentration Ministry of Health and Welfare. 3 (Fig.3) Bilirubin is the yellow pigment in the researches on the Panchakarma treatment of body, which is the similar substance to Pitta Ayurveda were conducted by K. Takahashi, in Ayurvedic. This result also supported M. Hasumura, M. Miyoshi and K. Uebaba. Ayurvedic principles. In 1999, International Research Center for Traditional Medicine was founded in PONTENTIALITY OF AYURVEDA IN Toyama prefecture, which prefecture has THE FUTURE OF JAPAN had long history of traditional medicines. The spectra of researches were alternative In 21st century, as aged people increase, medicine of all over the world as well as need for disease prevention and health Ayurveda. promotion is being stronger. Ayurveda aims disease prevention and health promotion and The last 8 research is essential them for it can offer aged people better QOL by its Ayurveda. In order to Justify Ayurveda, we systematic and holistic approaches. should use modern technique of Ayurveda plays the important roles in Japan examinations, and correlate these results even now. with Ayurvedic principle. In this research, 194 young males wrote the Dosha check Furthermore, as the ration of children sheets, which are very commonly used in decreases promotion of body and mind some Ayurvedic textbooks. The number of health of children is sough Ayurveda has the questions were 20 about each dosha check traditional system for promotion of child for prakriti diagnosis, 60 in all. Adding to health, and it facilitates the contacts among that vikriti check sheet was made, which had parents-child, grandparents-child, child- 10 questions, 30 in all. According to the child, and it can help to improve social prevalence of each dosha in the dosha check relationship in families and society these sheets, prakriti and vikriti were decided. Of merits will make Ayurveda the most 194 males, 30 cases had the typical prakriti necessary system in Japan in 21st century. or vikriti, vata 14, Pitta 10 and Kapha 6 3 pages 218 - 229 However, as Ayurveda has supplied ayurvedic principle, but ayurvedic textbooks expensive treatments, it may be difficult to have contradictory teachings, or be be popularized uniformly in Japan.