Naturalizing Li Shizhen’s Bencao gangmu in Early-modern Japan

It is widely recognized by historians of natural history that Li Shizhen’s 李時珍 (1518–1593) Bencao gangmu 本草綱目(Classified Materia Medica) played a major role in the development of honzō studies (or honzōgaku) in early modern Japan. This landmark opus in the history of the Chinese bencao tradition was printed for the first time in 1596 in China and was frequently reissued up until the early 20th century.1 In Japan, Li Shizhen’s work was imported shortly after its publication in China, and as early as the 1630s, Japanese reprints of the book appeared with diacritic signs assisting its reading.2 The book aroused the curiosity of a wide range of intellectuals, especially physicians and Confucian scholars. It was first and foremost regarded as a reference book for identifying natural substances and assigning correct names because of the vast erudition on which it was based. Its systematic and orderly character appeared also as a model to be followed. The book was also highly valued for the information it provided on the various uses—especially therapeutic—of the Naturalizing Li Shizhen’s Bencao gangmu in Early-modern Japan: The Cases of Honchō shokkan, Yamato honzō, and Wakan sansai zue