Kampo medicine

The formula pattern is also very unique in Kampo medicine. While traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescriptions are individualized at the herbal level, Kampo medicine is individualized at the formula level. This practice may have started during the Edo period, as usage of different amounts of herbs was described in a book by Kaibara in 1712 [22]. According to this book, the amount of each herb used in Japan was 1/5 to 1/3 that used in China. Kaibara explained that one of the reasons for this practice was the difficulty in importing herbs from China. Even though alternative herbs available in Japan were used, some had to be imported from China. These differences in the amounts of herbs used are still prevalent. This may explain why Kampo medicine is individualized at the formula level. During the Edo period, doctors carefully studied the roles of formulas and decided the characteristics of each formula. This practice led to Yoshimasu’s idea of “matching of pattern and formula.”
Physicians continue to follow this principle today. Clinical trials have been conducted using the same Kampo formula used previously for a specific disease, determining the appropriate Kampo formula based on host patterns. “Matching of pattern and formula” has thus been shown to be a sophisticated approach.

Kampo patterns are rather unique compared to Chinese or Korean patterns. There are 2 explanations for this difference. First, Kampo medicine was separated from the theory of the Ming dynasty and then reestablished based on Shang Han Lun theory during the Edo period. Second, Kampo medicine is used in combination with Western biomedicine by licensed doctors in Japan. Kampo terminology was redeveloped in order to avoid confusion with Western biomedicine.

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2014/535146/