Just as ancient Greece and Rome serve as the foundation of Western civilization, Japan looks to China as the mother of culture throughout Asia. When my wife came back from South Korea, she brought me a jar of foul-tasting pills to swallow, saying, “Now, this is kampo, so it’s very good medicine.” A word that literally means “Chinese way,” kampo refers to the traditional herbal medicine of China, and it occupies an almost mythical place in the minds of the Japanese, in effect being a complete class of medical science that’s separate from Western medicine. Many products, from energy drinks to various health “enhancers” to Yomeshu (a kind of medicinal sake loaded with Chinese herbs) advertise themselves as “Chinese way” medicine to win the trust of customers.
Chinese herbal medicine occupies a special place in Japan.
