Matsuoka Shoan

Matsuoka Shoan (松岡 恕庵, 1668-1746) was an Edo era Japanese Confucianist and herbalist.

Matsuoka Shoan
松岡 恕庵
Born1668
Kyoto, Japan
DiedJuly 11, 1746 (aged 79 years)
Other namesGentatsu (玄達)
EraEdo period
SchoolNangaku
Main interests
Neo-Confucianism, Kampo
In this Japanese name, the surname is Matsuoka.

Biography

Matsuoka was born in Kyoto in Kanbun 8 as Matsuoka Gentatsu (玄達). As an adult, he adopted the name Matsuoka Shoan. He studied philosophy under Yamazaki Ansai and Itō Jinsai, and medicine under Wakasui Inoue.

When Tokugawa Yoshimune became the 8th Shōgun of Japan in 1716, the Shogunate set out to institute an array of economic and cultural reforms in Japan, including the development of herbal studies in the capitol at Edo. Matsuoka would be invited by the Shogunate to continue his studies at the Edo Medical Center, and join Wakaku Kaisho, a private company that conducted pharmaceutical experiments with collected herbs, and developed a commercial pharmaceutical practice for distributing necessary medication to the growing populace.[1][2][3] Matsuoka was one of the first Japanese scholars to write a monograph (蕃藷録, "On Sweet Potatoes") dedicated to the analysis of sweet potatoes as a crop.[4]

Matsuoka was a prolific writer and teacher during his time, opening his own school and mentored noted Edo era doctors and scholars Niwa Masahide, Minami Asai, Ono Ranzan, Tanikawa Kotosuga, and Toda Asahiyama. His research of the species, forms, and production of animals and plants lead to great strides in the understanding of herbology and influenced pharmaceutical knowledge throughout East Asia.[5][6]

Bibliography

• 救荒本草 - Wild Foods
• 用薬須知 - Early Chinese Medicine
• 食療正要 - Essentials of Food Medicine
• 蕃藷録 - Sweet Potatoes
• 烟草録 - Tobacco
• 広参品 - Ginsing
• 怡顔斎何品 - What is Pharmacology
- 櫻品 - Cherry Blossom
- 梅品 - Plums
- 蘭品 - Orchids
- 竹品 - Bamboo
- 菓品 - Fruit
- 菜品 - Vegetables
- 菌品 - Fungus
- 介品 - Mollusks
- 石品 - Minerals
• 用薬須知後編 - Early Chinese Medicine, Vol 2[7]

References
  1. Yoshida, Atsuko. "松岡恕庵". Kotobank.
  2. Whitney, Willis Norton (1885). Notes on the History of Medical Progress in Japan. Meiklejohn.
  3. Ota, Yuka (2012). A study of Matsuoka Shoan herbalism. Shinbunkaku. ISBN 9784784216178.
  4. Ro, Sang-ho (2021). Neo-Confucianism and Science in Korea: Humanity and Nature, 1706-1814. Oxon: Routledge. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-367-44100-5.
  5. Marcon, Federico (2015). The Knowledge of Nature and the Nature of Knowledge in Early Modern Japan. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226251905.
  6. "Learning from Matsuoka Shoan". Naito Museum of Pharmaceutical Science and Industry. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
  7. "Matsuoka, Joan 1668-1746". OCLC Worldcat Identities. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
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