Menstruation Matters : An Annotated Translation of Notes by a Simple Physician (1304)

Female health and fertility issues belong to the main fields where Traditional Japanese Medicine is applied today. The early fourteenth-century Notes by a Simple Physician ( Ton’ishō 頓医抄 ) stands as a significant text in the history of Japanese medicine, particularly as the first known Japanese medical work to dedicate an entire chapter to menstruation. This article provides the first full annotated translation of this treatise. Its author, Kajiwara Shōzen, integrates new ideas from Song-era medical practices with knowledge from ancient medical texts, adding his own commentary drawn from his experiences as a practicing physician. This makes Notes by a Simple Physician a vital record of medieval Japanese medical knowledge and its practical application. The annotated translation of a key original source offers a valuable resource for understanding historical approaches to women’s reproductive health. The detailed identification of materia medica in the formulas highlights the availability, substitution, and application of the phytotherapeutic ingredients. This makes the work a significant contribution to the study of Japanese medical and social history and a useful reference for those researching historical pharmacology and the evolution of women’s health practices.