Sho-o Abe

Background

Abe Sho-o was born in 1650 in Morioka (Iwate Prefecture), Japan. His first name was Teruto and his posthumous name Tomonoshin.

Education

He started for Yedo by sea when young. Enroute, his ship met a storm off Hachinoe and drifted for seven months before it reached Amoy in South China. Thence he proceeded to Chekiang Province, where he studied medicine and botany. After staying in China for 18 years, he returned to Japan and lived in Yed.

Career

When the Shogunate Government undertook to train botanists with a view to promoting Chinese pharmacology, he was taken into the Shogun's service in 1721. The next year he wandered in the mountains of Kai Province (Yamanashi Prefecture) gathering specimens of medical herbs. In 1729, he sought more specimens in Tohoku and Hokkaido, making important discoveries.

Achievements

• He opened the Medical Herb Garden in Konya-machi. Yedo, where experiments and researchh pharmacology were conducted. He left a number of books on his studies, including Saiyaku-shisetsu and Homo Komoku Ruiko.