Evidence‐based Reconstruction of Kampo Medicine: Part I—Is Kampo CAM?

I would like to express my hearty congratulations at the launching of the new journal Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (eCAM). I would also like to thank the Editors, Drs Tomio Tada, Edwin Cooper and Nobuo Yamaguchi, for inviting me to contribute a lecture series on the evidential basis of Kampo (Chinese herbal) medicine. This series will run for several issues with the following main topics (in this issue the first three topics are mainly covered): Is Kampo CAM? The historical background of Kampo What characterizes Kampo? Herbal compositions of Kampo medicines Composition and analysis of Kampo medicines Sho (symptoms) Construction of evidence for Kampo, based on Sho Various designs for clinical trials to construct an evidential basis for Kampo Outline of the existing evidence of using Kampo for the treatment of various diseases Preliminary notes for those who are not acquainted with Kampo: the term ‘Kampo’ is a Japanese name for Chinese herbal medicine. The difference between ‘Chinese’ Chinese herbal medicine and Kampo will be discussed in the historical overview section. Sho is broadly defined as Kampo diagnosis in the epistemic framework of Kampo's view of illness. The response to Kampo medicine is predicted by Sho.