treasure house of the Tōdai-Temple (Tōdai-ji) known as Shōsōin. In 787 A.D., the "Newly Revised Materia Medica" (Xinxiu Bencao, 659 A.D.), which had been sponsored by the Tang Imperial Court, became an obligatory text in the study of medicine at the Japanese Health Ministry, but many of the 844 medicinal substances described in this book were not available in Japan at the time. Around 918 A.D., a Japanese medical dictionary entitled "Japanese names of (Chinese) Materia Medica" (Honzō-wamyō) was compiled, quoting from 60 Chinese medical works. During the Heian Period, Tanba Yasuyori (912–995) compiled the first Japanese medical book, Ishinpō ("Prescriptions from the Heart of Medicine"), drawing from numerous Chinese texts, some of which have perished later. During the period from 1200 to 1600, medicine in Japan became more practical. Most of the physicians were Buddhist monks who continued to use the formulas, theories and practices that had been introduced by the early envoys from Tang China. Early revision During the 15th and 16th centuries, Japanese physicians began to achieve a more independent view on Chinese medicine. After 12 years of studies in China Tashiro Sanki (1465–1537) became the leading figure of a movement called "Followers of Later Developments in Medicine" (Gosei-ha). This school propagated the teachings of Li Dongyuan and Zhu Tanxi that gradually superseded the older doctrines from the Song dynasty. Manase Dōsan, one of his disciples, adapted Tashiro's teachings to Japanese conditions. Based on his own observation and experience, he compiled a book on internal medicine in eight volumes (Keiteki-shū) and established an influential private medical school (Keiteki-in) in Kyōto. His son Gensaku wrote a book of case studies (Igaku tenshō-ki) and developed a considerable number of new herb formulas. From the second half of the 17th century, a new movement, the "Followers of Classic Methods" (Kohō-ha), evolved, which emphasized the teachings and formulas of the Chinese classic "Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders" (Shanghan Lun, in Japanese Shōkan-ron). While the etiological concepts of this school were as speculative as those of the Gosei-ha, the therapeutic approaches were based on empirical observations and practical experience. This return to "classic methods" was initiated by Nagoya Gen'i (1628–1696), and advocated by influential proponents such as Gotō Gonzan (1659–1733), Yamawaki Tōyō (1705–1762), and Yoshimasu Tōdō (1702–1773). Yoshimasu is considered to be the most influential figure. He accepted any effective technique, regardless of its particular philosophical background. Yoshimasu's abdominal diagnostics are commonly