Doctors Gone Digital: Duke’s Japanese Medical Manuscript Collection Now Online

Left: Illustration of osteopathic techniques from Shunrinken kasho 春林軒 家書 (1810, 1828). Right: Illustration of bandaging techniques from Hana ke seikotsu bakutai no zu 華家 整骨縛帯之図 (undated).

A significant collection of sixty-three early modern Japanese medical manuscripts held at the Rubenstein Library has been digitized and is now publicly accessible.

Titles in this collection range from roughly 1810 to 1849 and take two primary forms: transcribed lectures and demonstrations, and manuals handwritten by well-known Japanese physicians of the time, most notably Hanaoka Seishū (1760-1835) and Takenaka Bunpō (1766-1836). Topics are wide ranging and include coverage of herbal medicinal compounds and their uses, treatments for ocular diseases, surgical techniques (especially excisions), osteopathic treatments, wound treatments, gynecological and obstetric practices, and pediatric medicine. Beyond the diverse content, these titles also offer more than one hundred full-page, hand-drawn illustrations, many in vibrant color, of techniques, afflictions, and implements.

At a broad level, this collection offers a rich view of the diversity of Japanese medical practices, which drew from Chinese, Portuguese, and Dutch sources, during the first half of the 19th century. It may also support a variety of adjacent studies, including but limited to those focused on East Asian materia medica, the history of medical illustration techniques, biographical studies on Hanaoka Seishū or Takenaka Bunpō, and the history of medical education in early modern Japan.

We would like to acknowledge our incredible Digital Collections Implementations Team for their effort and care in making these manuscripts available to Duke users and beyond!

Japanese Medical Notebooks, 1810-1849 and undated

For full access to this collection, please follow this link.

Questions about this collection or its contents?

Please reach out to:

Rachel Ingold, Curator for the Josiah Charles Trent History of Medicine Collections at Rubenstein Library, rachel.ingold@duke.edu

Matthew Hayes, Librarian for Japanese Studies and Asian American Studies, matt.hayes@duke.edu