Asada Souhaku was one of the most important kampo medicine practitioners in Modern Japan, but his activities and contributions during the cholera pandemic in Japan (1858—1860) have not received much attention from scholars. After the outbreak of cholera in Edo in July 1858, Asada Souhaku went to the epidemic area and successfully treated a large number of cholera patients, writing and publishing a cholera emergency manual Bosha Suchin (暴泻须知, Instructions for Sudden Diarrhea) for the use of the people in the epidemic area. Subsequently, until 1860, he compiled the Chionhen (治瘟编, Collection on Treating Plague), Chionhen-ho (治瘟编补, Supplement to Collection on Treating Plague) and Chionhen Kosho (治瘟编考证, Demonstration of Collection on Treating Plague). Among these, Chionhen had the most clinical and academic value, promoting kampo medicine practitioners' research and discussions on cholera. Asada Souhaku's naming of cholera, as well as his understanding of its causes and transmission routes, was not as good as that of Qing Dynasty physicians, but his diagnosis and treatment of cholera were quite unique. In comparison with Ranpo (Dutch) medicine practitioner Ogata Kouan, Asada Souhaku was more cautious, because he published his experience and therapy following clinical practice and research on Chinese, Japanese, and Western medical books.
Zeng et al. (Fri,) studied this question.