Main Collection

The Sorei Memorial Hall presents the 52-year life of Sorei Yanagiya, a fortunate adventurer through the upheaval of Showa period acupuncture and moxibustion – a period punctuated by the Second World War. The collection houses the more than 50 publications by Sorei Yanagiya, including Pulse Diagnosis Based Acupuncture and Moxibustion Treatment Methods: Experiments and Validation of Ninety Yagishita Treatments, an account of meeting with Yagishita who exerted a profound influence on the nascent meridian therapy. The collection also includes Yanagiya’s research papers on the Classics, publications and materials on the science of acupuncture and moxibustion, and handwritten prologues for Ido no Nippon. Many objects left to us by Sorei Yanagiya are also on display, including a da-shin (acupuncture needle inserted with the aid of a small hammer) set regularly used by Sorei Yanagiya and a set of nine classical needles made by the master Genzo Kanbe. The Memorial Hall gives visitors the opportunity to view the path through history made by a prominent authority of acupuncture and moxibustion.

Speaking on “Acupuncture and Moxibustion in Germany and France” after his return to Japan (1955)

Treatment with a long acupuncture needle (1955)

Left: Pulse Diagnosis Based Acupuncture and Moxibustion Treatment Methods: Experiments and Validation of Ninety Yagishita Treatments Right: The Science of Acupuncture and Moxibustion: Practical Techniques

A collection of signatures from prominent acupuncture and moxibustion practitioners From: “Shinkyu Seidan” (1949)

Set of nine classical needles by the fourth generation Genzo Kanbe

Da-shin (acupuncture needle inserted with the aid of a small hammer) set

Special Exhibition 1: Large Screen Visual System

Multiple programs are available to visitors to the Sorei Memorial Hall for viewing on a large screen. For instance, you can view photo albums of graduation photos to look back on the teachers and graduates who have supported the history of Toyoshinkyu. Another program introduces acupuncture and moxibustion practice techniques, the nine classical needles, and special acupuncture techniques such as fire needles and acupuncture around the eye. There is also a dialogue format look back at Sorei Yanagiya and the development of Japanese acupuncture and moxibustion. Please indicate your desire to watch any of these programs when you make your reservation to visit the Memorial Hall. (Note: available program content may change.)

Sorei Yanagiya and His Contemporaries: A slideshow of group photos and snapshots depicting the personal network of Sorei Yanagiya over the 52 years of his life

Former Teachers and School Friends: A slideshow featuring graduation photos and a look back on the teachers and graduates who have supported the history of the Toyoshinkyu College of Oriental Medicine

Traditional Techniques and the Toyoshinkyu College of Oriental Medicine: A collection of video clips showing the spirit and skill that is the essence of education at Toyoshinkyu – “Faithful to the fundamentals and never stagnant, transmitting traditional medicine to the modern age in all its brilliance.”

Special Exhibition 2: Historical Texts – the Nanjing Classic with Collected Commentary

This manuscript is from the late Muromachi period and is the oldest currently existing Nanjing Jizhu (Nanjing Classic with collected commentary). Formerly in the collection of Risshi Mori, physician to the Fukushima Clan in the late Edo period, it recently entered the collection of the Sorei Memorial Hall. This is a first class historical document for researching and examining interpretations of the Nanjing.