What is Oriental Medicine
The World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies
WFAS SYDNEY 2013 8th World Conference on Acupuncture (Abstruct)
Japan Tokyo
Seino Acupuncture and Orthopedics Clinic
Meiji Acupuncture and Moxibustion University a visiting professor
Juntendo University Medical Department a research student
Mitsunori Seino
[ Introduction ]
Within Asia, the regions of West, Central, and East Asia all have their own specific forms of traditional medicine. In recent years, Asian medicine has often been termed ‘Oriental Medicine,’ but the word ‘Orient’originally referred to the West Asian region. In 2007, the World Health Organization defined ‘Oriental Medicine’ as ‘a general term for traditional medicine practiced in East Asian countries, e.g., Japan and Korea.’ This definition is ambiquity.
I would like to discuss the nature of Oriental Medicine.
[ Main Text ]
The concept of Qi （気）is common to all regions of Asia. It is equivalent to prana（気）, a term encountered in the Indian philosophical writings of the “Upanishads ”and “Vedas”, and closely resembles the Qi（気） seen in Chinese medicine before its systematization during the Han dynasty. Qi（気） is regarded as underlying the entire universe, and in terms of the human body it is used as a term to express the action of the kokoro (mind/heart/spirit こころ・心). It is also regarded as the “breath（呼吸）” connecting the universe and humanity. In Asia, the stability of the kokoro（こころ・心） is the source of health, underlying the conception of disease (byōki病気) as a disorder (やまい・病) of the kokoro（こころ・心）.
[ Discussion ]
Medical treatment of Orient is a form of treatment that seeks to correct imbalances in the body that arise due to disturbances of the kokoro（こころ・心）. Acupuncture and moxibustion can be regarded as therapies that aim to correct the balance between karada（bodyからだ・身体） and kokoro（こころ・心）.
[ Conclusion ]
Oriental medicine is the medical science of Qi（気）. Oriental medical science is an academic discipline that studies empirical treatment based on the underlying concept that disorders initially arise in the kokoro (mind/heart/spiritこころ・心), resulting in the appearance of disease in the karada（bodyからだ・身体）.