A Dose of Decoction

While I'm observing the example, my sensei puts his hand on Mr. Tahei's forehead. He was making sure he didn't have a fever. Then he searched through the jute bag and took out various herbal medicines.

"Nisuke. Did you notice anything?"

"Yes, sir. It's very watery."

"I guess so. That's what I expected."

"Do you get to see it, doctor?" I wanted to ask him, but when I looked at him, I saw that he was too focused on mixing the medicine.

I refrained myself from talking to him. My sensei was mild-mannered and rarely got angry. But when it came to treatment, warfare, or the samurai, he could get surprisingly worked up!

He proceeded to crush up a koboku (Japanese bigleaf magnolia bark), a chinpi (dried citrus peel of a satsuma mandarin), and a sōjutsu (atractylodes lancea rhizoma) into small pieces in his medicine cup, and said to Mr. Tahei, "You seem to have a slight fever."

"Is that so?"

Hearing that, the patient suddenly felt like a sick man and feebly returned to his futon. Mrs. Rin took Mr. Tahei's hand and squeezed it. The two of them looked at each other. It was as if they were parting for life. I do not think it was a life-and-death kind of disease.

The doctor was still crushing the herbal medicine. He added more bukuryō (Poria cocos, a species of basidiomycete) and keihi (cinnamon bark). As he prepared the mixture, he assigned me: "Nisuke, check his pulse."

"Right away!"

I was happy. It looked as if that my hard work with the ochoko was over.

I wiped my hands with a wet hand towel and tried to check Mr. Tahei's pulse.

But the couple was still holding each other's hands. Since I thought that they were going to be like that forever, I called out to them: "Please, excuse me for a moment."

Mrs. Rin looked at me very surprised and then withdrew her hand in a panic, like a child who had been caught making mischief.

"Let me check your pulse."

I took both of the patient's wrists and examined his pulsation.

According to Dr. Tokuhon, one can tell the condition and prognosis of a sick person from his or her pulse. In some cases, it can even determine the time of death.

I don't know that much about it; however, as I examined the pulse of various people. I learned that there were many pulse patterns, and they were constantly changing.

It reflects the state of the body and mind.

Mr. Tahei's pulse beat three times in one breath, which was a little slow. It felt thin to the touch. The doctor inquired:

"Chin, chi, sai… Well, are you familiar with these terms?"

"Well, not with chin."

It sounded like a code word for ninjas, but it was a medical term.

Chin means that the pulse is in a deep position, and Chi means it is slow. Each is a characteristic of a cold disease.

Sai indicates a thin pulse, so my pulse diagnosis was correct except for the chin. My sensei asked me further questions.

"Where is the kyo (cavity, too much weakness)?"

Kyo means a low level of ki (vital energy) and ketsu (blood).

Blood and ki circulate on the surface and inside the body. The flow of ki and blood goes through the organs and nourishes the whole body.

When it is not feeling well, one of the gozō (five organs) has less ki and blood than the others. Those five organs are: kan (liver), shin (heart), hi (spleen), hai (lung), and jin (kidney). Alternatively, too much ki and blood in one of them can cause illness. In such a case, it is called jitsu.

"In Mr. Tahei's case, which ki and blood are low? This can also be determined by examining the pulse."

"Is it hikyo (deficiency of the spleen)?"

"Partly, yes, but the main cause is a jinkyo (deficiency of the kidney)."

"Oh, I see." That's why the doctor asked about marital intercourse.

"In the case of men, it is said that it drains the kidney energy. Furthermore, since Mr. Tahei seems to be much older than Mrs. Rin, the consumption must be severe. The blood and ki in the kidneys diminish with age."

The other two were listening to our conversation with concern, but they didn't seem to understand the medical terminology very well. Mrs. Rin asked me, "How is it progressing?"

It would have been heartless of me to respond in a straightforward manner. Plus, unfortunately, I didn't know the details.

It would have been very knowledgeable of me to give her a straightforward reply; but, unfortunately, I did not know the details.

"My sensei will explain it to you."

"Will I need to wait for long?"

Dr. Tokuhon took out a dobin (earthenware jar) from a tool bag and was making the decoction of the medicine in the irori (hearth). I had no choice but to wait.

"Yes, I see."

"Shall I put this away?," suggested Mrs. Rin to me.

It's Mr. Tahei's stool in the ochoko. I asked for the doctor's consent.

"May I dispose of it?"

"Yes, you may."

In the end, he never looked at it, though I was honored to think of it as proof of his trust in me.

Mrs. Rin stood up with the ochoko on her hand. Even holding such a thing was a very beautiful scene to see.

I managed to talk to Mr. Tahei.

"How old are you, sir?"

"Forty-two."

"Oh, so you're in a yakudoshi (the age of a person in which bad things happen according to the Japanese tradition)."

"Actually, I'm in a taiyaku (the age of a person in which the worst things happen)."

After a few words, we were met by an icy silence.

I felt a little awkward. Maybe I was jealous.

My sensei seemed to have finished his work. The fragrant smell of the decoction was in the air.

Mrs. Rin sat down next to Mr. Tahei with a teacup. The doctor started to explain.

"This decoction is called ireitō, which is a combination of heiisan and goreisan. Let's have you take this first."

Mrs. Rin gave the doctor a teacup. He took it, poured the decoction in, handed it to Mr. Taihei and he drank it. He was thin, so I could clearly see the movement of his Adam's apple.

The doctor continued his explanation.

"It seems that the diarrhea was mainly caused by a cold stomach. Mr. Taihei, it seems that you hav always had a tendency to get cold in the abdominal area. I think you may have heard the sound of water trickling in your stomach."

"You're absolutely right," Mr. Tahei said.

"That's called inai teisui (water retention in the stomach), which is one of the reasons why your stomach is cold."

"Inai… teisui?"

"Yes. It means that water is trapped in the stomach. In addition, when you sweat at work and the cold wind hits your stomach, it gets even colder."

"I see."

"In addition, the kidneys also get cold because having intercourse depletes the yōki (yáng energy) of your kidneys."

"I'm sorry," she apologized in a low voice.

"And I'm sorry too." For some reason, Mr. Tahei also apologized.

That's why you have a fever. The cold pushes the yáng energy in your chest up from below, causing your upper body and head to become hot.

"Again, I'm sorry."

Mrs. Rin appeared to be shrinking. She looked like a child being scolded.

"No, it's I who should apologize."

Mr. Tahei also began to shrink.

"The vomiting last night must have been due to indigestion caused by a cold stomach."

"That's right. That's right."

The patient nodded strongly. I'm not sure if he really understood what was being said.

"After some time from now, the diarrhea should stop. Make sure not to let your stomach get cold. It's advisable to apply a hand towel or something."

"I understand. Thank you very much!"

Mrs. Rin thanked him and bowed deeply."

Mr. Tahei performed a dogeza (to kneel down on the ground and bow).

Dr. Tokuhon was not very good at being bowed by others. He always seemed to be uncomfortable while displaying an awkward smile on his face.