Dissemination and Application of Knowledge of Wen Yi Lun by the Kampo Medicine Physician Ogino Gengai

During the Edo period in Japan (1603-1868), when plague was rampant, frequent Sino-Japanese medical exchanges facilitated the transmission of Ming-Qing dynasty plague-related knowledge to Japan primarily through medical texts. As the first Chinese treatise on plague, Wu Youke’s (吴又可) Wen Yi Lun (《温疫论》 Treatise on Pestilence ) was transmitted to Japan in 1737. Ogino Gengai (荻野元凯, 1737~1806), a prominent Physician of Kampo Medicine in the mid-Edo period of Japan, acquired this book， meticulously proofread it, and oversaw its republication in 1770, marking the beginning of its dissemination in Japan. In subsequent years, Ogino Gengai systematically studied the theories of Wu Youke and applied his knowledge to the diagnosis and treatment of plague. He was invited by the Tokugawa Shogunate to lecture on Wen Yi Lun at the Edo Medical Academy, and he innovated and perfected his view of plague in the practice of clinical diagnosis, His work Study of Epidemic Febrile Diseases (《温病之研究》) subsequently exerted profound influence on later generations. Ogino Gengai established the foundation for Wen Yi Lun studies in Japan and served as a model for physicians throughout Kyoto and beyond. He proposed two innovative diagnostic concepts: the Shaoyin syndrome (少阴证) of plague and the upper surplus and lower deficiency syndrome (上盈下虚证), advancing the localization of plague knowledge in Japan. His work enabled Chinese knowledge to significantly contribute to plague containment and management strategies in Japan. He paid attention to the current medical needs of Japan and innovatively integrated Kampo medicine with Dutch medical knowledge, thereby establishing a research paradigm for cross-cultural medical studies during that era.