98 BOTANICON SINICUM. 
In 794 Kiyoto became the capital of Japan, and the Emperor 
Kan mu tenno established there a University for the promotion 
of Chinese sciences. At about the same time libraries were first 
founded in Japan. 
In 808 Hirosada, a Japanese physician, a native of the province 
of Idzumo, published in Japanese a Chinese work on Materia 
medica, entitled J fia] #4] FE Fy.” It was republished in 1827. 
From the second half of the 11th century a considerable trade 
in drugs was carried on between Japan and China. 
In the second half of the 15th century the leading works on 
Materia medica studied in Japan were the Chinese treatises 
BA Fe AK Hi and the BA FE AC FX (see above Hist. Mat. med. 
No, 21, 22). 
History has preserved the names of three Japanese physicians 
of the 15th and 16th centuries famed for their knowledge of 
drugs, viz.: Takeda Sadamori (1467), Osada Tokuhon (1500), and 
Yoshida Soke (1550). 
The Chinese 7 ¥i #7 H Pen ts‘ao hang mu, published as we 
have seen at the close of the 16th century, was known in Japan 
soon after its appearance. It was translated into Japanese with 
the Japanese title Hon zo ko mo ku, in 1714, by Ina Nobuyoski 
(Ina Wakasui). 
The $k He AK Hi Kiu huang pen ts‘ao (1. c. No. 85) was trans- 
lated two years later. 
The historical facts recorded in the above sketch of the develop- 
ment of botanical knowledge in Japan leave no doubt that the 
Materia medica of the Japanese was originally entirely based 
upon Chinese works, which have been reprinted and commented 
upon in Japan, especially since the 9th century. It is further 
known that from the 7th and 8th centuries learned Chinese and 
Corean physicians and Buddhist priests frequently came to Japan; 
whilst on the other hand Japanese physicians used to visit China 
with the purpose of studying medicinal plants. They thus had 
an opportunity of comparing Chinese and Japanese plants, and 
were enabled to identify the species found in both countries. 
Thus we find in J apanese works on Botany, besides the popular 
—— 
40 Chinese catalogues do not mention this treatise, 
