In China, natural substances have been used medicinally for thousands of years, and their application is encouraged by the present Chinese government. Traditional Chinese Medicine, including herbalism, began to be imported into Japan from about the 5th century A.D., and - with a few modifications - it has to a large extent been incorporated into the system operated by Japanese health insurance authorities.



The use of herbs once belonged partly to the realm of magic, in the healing rites performed by shamans (men and women of "natural wisdom") and also stems from observations of the way in which animals treat themselves to various plants when sick or wounded. But careful study of herbs and their properties over thousands of years has developed Oriental herbal medicine into a highly refined and complex discipline.

Medical diagnosis is usually undertaken by practitioners familiar with both Western and Oriental medicine, resulting in a wide­ranging and comprehensive assessment of a patient's symptoms. The yin/yang balance will be appraised, as well as the functioning of the internal organs and systems, the patient's psychological state, diet, and lifestyle. And each of these factors will be considered in relation to the nature of the diseases or disorder involved, and its degree and speed of progression.

Following diagnosis, the therapist selects a combination of natural "herbs," which may include mineral and animal ingredients. Western herbal therapies are often based on using a single herbal remedy at a time; indeed, most rural forms of folk medicine work on this premise. An Oriental herbal therapist will provide an individually tailored cocktail of herbs that will work in conjunction with one another, and with you, and that will probably be readapted several times during the course of treatment as healing proceeds,

Herbs are classified in a number of ways. The nature of each is said to be cold, cool, hot, warm, or neutral. This is the chi or energy value of the herb and is used to balance excess or deficiencies in the "disharmony" that constitutes the illness. The herb's taste and smell are also evaluated, as sour bitter, sweet, pungent. salty (and also tasteless or astringent). These characteristics are linked special affinities with different organs or body system and the related emotions that can be involved in disease. The herbs are also characterized as having a ascending or descending effect. The herbalist prescribes a mixture of herbs and tells the patient how to prepare and use them. Occasionally ready-prepared remedies such as herbal pills or tinctures may be given.

In Chinese medicine, diet is a matter of great importance in preventing and treating disease, and the Oriental therapist also gives instructions on how to correct the diet and lifestyle. Acupuncture may also be recommended.

Western research now suggests that many of the substances that are used in Oriental medicine may in fact be capable of forming part of the treatment of cancers and other diseases.