Fine Japanese Works of Art
Fine Japanese Works of Art
Property from a Collection
Anonymous | The Newly Published Yellow Emperor's Book on Moxibustion (Shinkan kotei meido kyukei) | Edo period, 17th century
Lot Closed
September 29, 02:05 PM GMT
Estimate
800 - 1,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from a Collection
Anonymous
The Newly Published Yellow Emperor's Book on Moxibustion (Shinkan kotei meido kyukei)
Edo period, 17th century
woodblock printed book, fukurotoji-bon, no colophon, postscript dated Keian ni tsuchinoto ushi rokugatsu kichijutsu (an auspicious day in the 6th month 1649), 1 vol., original brown paper wrappers, paper title slip inscribed as above, later cloth cover; contents: 64 leaves, numbered on the hashira, 9-leaf preface numbered 1-9, text 11 columns per page, 20 characters per column, 55-leaf text, numbered 1-55, 11 columns per page, 20 characters per column, 45 single page illustrations
Ohon: 25.4 x 17.8 cm., 10 x 7 in.
Often attributed to Huang-di, the ancient Yellow Emperor of legend, the Shinkan kotei meido kyukei is a revised Japanese commentary on the Lingshu jing, a key text in early Chinese medicine. The present treatise on moxibustion and acupuncture includes forty-five illustrations of both adult and child figures marked with four to eight spots illustrating the locations of acupuncture points with explanations of their efficacy, alongside commentary regarding optimal and unfavourable days for treatment. G. E. Mestler writes:
‘Of particular interest in this book is a diagram based on superstitious medical belief in the use of moxa, which depended upon striking a balance of age of patient, compass direction, and day of the year’.1
1. G. E. Mestler, 'A Galaxy of Old Japanese Medical Books', part II, in Bull of the Medical Library Association, vol. 42, p. 473.