ABSTRACT
Shinshin-ichinyo is the concept derived from Zen Buddhism in Japan in which mind and body connect with and negate each other at the same time. Western medicine has been dealing with “organs and diseases” based on mind-body dualism, but Oriental medicine has been dealing with “patients with disease” based on this concept. Psychosomatic medicine was established as holistic medicine by using this concept, and becomes popular in the field of general medicine, but it is still unclear who introduced this concept to the field of Kampo or traditional Japanese medicine. Here I explored one possibility by investigating some literature.
ABSTRACT
The concept of mind-body unity is a fundamental doctrine in the Kampo medicine which differs from modern scientific medicine. The history of science started on the basis of separation of spirit and human body, as a matter of course which brought in the medical practice a dualistic theory of recognition of diseases. However, a human being is living as a mind-body unity. The author made clear that this term is described in the Buddhism text book, “Shobogenzo” written by Dogen in the Kamakura period. And the author also found out the first person in modern times who used the term “Shinshin'ichinyo” (i.e. mind-body unity) is Yujiro Ikemi, an authority of psychosomatic medicine in Japan.