Scroll entitled at end "Hakuraku shinkei iroiro hisho" ["Various Secret Information of Veterinary Acupuncture"] by EQUINE ACUPUNCTURE SCROLL

Scroll (300 x 5690 mm.) on paper with eight illus. using brush & various colors of wash. [Japan]: at the end, the year 1606 is written, the name of the person who gave this information: "Sato Tarobei Munenobu," and the name of the recipient: "Tani Sataro." This early scroll, dated 1606, contains eight images and is clearly derived from Chinese medicine, which employed acupuncture and herbal medicines. The first image depicts the five organs and the triple burner, with different colors for each organ, and their related parts of the body. The following image shows a horse and its chief meridians, with accompanying text on the five organs and the triple burner. The third image depicts the lung, heart, spleen, stomach, kidney, and large intestine, with surrounding notes on each and their relationships. Each organ is depicted in different color of wash. Images four and five show pressure points on the left and right flanks of the horse for needle insertion, with accompanying explanatory text. Images six and seven show the two flanks again with further pressure points. The final image depicts aspects of the skeleton of the horse, again with more pressure points. Very good condition, preserved in a modern wooden scroll box. This scroll is somewhat defective at the very beginning, with some loss of text (and this first sheet has been backed). There is also some minor worming and staining.