was a Japanese physician and anatomist.
Early life and education
Dōsan was born in Kyoto and initially trained to become a monk. However, in his early twenties he began studying medicine under
Tashiro Sanki
was a Japanese doctor of ''kampo'' and the founder of the ''Gosei-ha'' school of medicine. He was a teacher of Manase Dōsan.
Tashiro studied abroad in China between 1487 and 1498, and returned to Japan with new ideas regarding medicine. He pro ...
. He enrolled at the Ashikaga School of Medicine, and continued his studies for 17 years.
Career
He published a medical textbook, the , in 1571, and worked as a doctor for many daimyō of the time.
He was employed by the shōgun
Ashikaga Yoshiteru
, also known as Yoshifushi or Yoshifuji, was the 13th ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1546 to 1565 during the late Muromachi period of Japan. He was the eldest son of the 12th ''shōgun'', Ashikaga Yoshiharu, and his moth ...
and treated the
Emperor Ōgimachi
was the 106th Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. He reigned from November 17, 1557, to his abdication on December 17, 1586, corresponding to the transition between the Sengoku period of the Muromachi bakufu and ...
.
The daimyō Dōsan treated included
Mōri Motonari
was a prominent ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) in the western Chūgoku region of Japan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. The Mōri clan claimed descent from Ōe no Hiromoto (大江広元), an adviser to Minamoto no Yoritomo. Motonari w ...
, whom Dōsan attended in 1566 during his siege of Toda Castle. When Monotari visited him the following year, Dōsan presented him with nine rules for health, known as the ''Kyuki''. These were:
* Do not be lazy or negligent
* Drink, live and eat modestly
* Enjoy poetry and dancing in moderation
* Rule virtuously
* Be mindful of war, but do not love it
* Listen to all viewpoints
* Note the difference between the lax and the industrious
* Court wise men and eschew extravagance
* Moderation in rule is reflected by moderation in the ruled
That same year, he also visited
Matsunaga Danjō Hisahide
Matsunaga Danjō Hisahide (松永 弾正 久秀 1508 – November 19, 1577) was a ''daimyō'' and head of the Yamato Matsunaga clan in Japan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century.
He has historical reputation as one of , a nickname ...
, where he lectured on Chinese texts on sex and the nurturing of life.
Dōsan taught over 3,000 students in what became known as ''Dōsan-ryu'' or the Dōsan School.
He and his heirs (both natural and adopted) were instrumental in the spread of the ''Goseihō'' school of medical thought in Japan, which stemmed from Chinese systems of medicine.
In popular culture
In the light novel Honnōji kara Hajimeru Nobunaga to no Tenka Tōitsu series, when Makoto suddenly developed a high fever from excessive exhaustion, Manase Dosan was immediately summoned by Oda Nobunaga to treat him and saved his life.
References
{{Authority control
16th-century Japanese physicians
1507 births
1594 deaths