Greetings upon Reappointment of the President
Greetings on my third term as President of the Japan Society of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (JSAM) and proposals for the terms “Acumoxology” and “Acumoxologist”.
Dear JSAM members,
1 July 2024
I was reappointed as President at the General Assembly of the 73rd Annual Conference of the Japanese Society of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (JSAM). I will continue the following projects from my first and second terms and strive to lead the future development of acupuncture and moxibustion in Japan.
1. JSAM Certified Acupuncturists/Moxibustionists
Trainees who started their training program in 2022 will complete the required training period in 2024 and are scheduled to take the written and oral examinations at the end of this fiscal year. The first certified acupuncturists in the new system will be welcomed next spring.
2. JSAM Glossary of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Terms
A web version of the JSAM Glossary of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Terms is planned to be published shortly. In parallel with this, work is ongoing to translate these terms into English and to create definitions for them. Progress will be reported in due course.
3. Electronic Medical Record in Acupuncture and Moxibustion Clinics
In anticipation of the coming era of acupuncture and moxibustion electronic medical records (AM-EMR), six acupuncture and moxibustion-related organizations play a central role in formulating standard record items. The work will be carried out with the cooperation of AM-EMR vendors.
4. Specialist Promoting Committee
We are considering establishing “Field specific acupuncturists/moxibustionists” as a higher qualification than certified acupuncturists/moxibustionists. For this purpose, we have newly set up the “Specialist Promoting Committee”, as we believe that cooperation with various medical specialty societies is necessary. This committee and the Accreditation Committee will take the lead in first formulating the image of a ” Field specific acupuncturists/moxibustionists”.
I would therefore like to thank all JSAM members for their continued understanding and support.
Now, the second half of this article is a proposal for the terms “Acumoxology” and “Acumoxologist”.
“Acumoxology” is an unfamiliar term, but it was already used in China in the early 2000s 1). In this book 1), the Chinese term was “針灸” which means acupuncture and moxibustion, but “acumoxology” was used as its English translation for “針灸”. Later, “acumoxology” was included in Encyclopaedia 2) and used in a textbook 3) of the World Federation of Acupuncture-moxibustion Societies (WFAS). In addition, I used the term for the first time in the preface to the introduction of Japanese acupuncture on the English web of the JSAM in August 2021, in the form of “academic acupuncture and moxibustion (acumoxology)” 4). The intention behind using “acumoxology” is to use it as an academic discipline. In Japanese, the term will be written as “鍼灸学” which means “scientific acupuncture and moxibustion”.
Acumoxologist, on the other hand, is an even more unfamiliar term. Corresponding terms for “鍼灸師” in Japanese include acupuncturist/moxibustionist, acupuncture and moxibustion practitioner, or acupuncture and moxibustion therapist. Although we can imagine a practitioner from these terms, but they are not the names of those who study acupuncture and moxibustion as a science. In this respect, I consider that “acumoxologist” includes two meanings: to pursue acupuncture and moxibustion as a science and to practice treatment based on scientific evidence. What are your opinions on this?
I would like to take this opportunity to advocate these two terms. Please send any comments or suggestions you may have to the Society’s headquarters.
Thank you very much.
Ikuro Wakayama, MD, PhD.
President
The Japan Society of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (JSAM)
References
1) 赵京生. 针灸经典理论阐释, 上海中医葯大学出版社. 2003 (Zhao Jingsheng. Elucidation for Classical Theory of the Acumoxology)
2) Ma, Yun-tao. Acupuncture. In: Helaine Selin ed. Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springcr-Vcrtag Berlin Heidelberg New York 2008, 15-19.
3) Deng Liangyue. The Course of International Acumoxology. Questrush Press (鄧良月．国際鍼灸学教程. 華夏出版社) 2009.
4) https://jsam.jp/en/news_en/2021-japan-booklet/