Torako Yui: the miracle in action

In November 1998, Dr. Yui made a representation on behalf of homoeopathy to the Japanese Parliament. Her active promotion of homoeopathic principles since this time is now beginning to show results.

APPLYING FOR GOVERNMENT RECOGNITION

On the 5th of February of that year, the Japanese government authorised a holistic medicine project to examine the need for a formally recognised qualification in homoeopathy and the requirement to provide liability insurance to indemnify homoeopathic practitioners. To further this project, Dr. Yui presented, on the 22nd of February, a 270 page report entitled "Recommendations and Explanations for the future of Homoeopathy" to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). This report was accompanied by a petition strong of 10,000 signatures from supporters of homoeopathy.

Included in this report was a letter of recommendation from Lord Atherton, who liaises with the British Department of Health, International Council of Homoeopathy (ICH) and the European Central Council of Homoeopaths (ECCH). Accompanying the report, were a letter signed by many recognised international practitioners of homoeopathy promising co-operation with the Japanese Homoeopathic Medical Association (JPHMA), an itinerary for the forthcoming JPHMA Annual Congress, and over three hours of video footage detailing homoeopathic seminars and individual case studies.

Following on from the report, Dr. Yui held a presentation on March 19th, explaining homoeopathic principles for the project team, which was well received and appreciated, as it deepened the understanding of homoeopathy within the group. Originally scheduled to last an hour, this presentation extended to over two hours as a result of the larger than expected audience, who were keen hear Dr. Yui's theories.

As chairperson of the JPHMA, Dr. Yui made the following opening statement: "We, as homoeopaths, aim to help the Japanese people. In Japan, there are many people who suffer from mental disorders, and homoeopathy can assist in communicating a sense of well-being. Indeed, homoeopathy can be seen to have great effect across the spectrum for those who have difficulty in expressing themselves; babies who have not learnt yet to speak, disruptive school children, or those afflicted with autism. To allow homoeopaths to practise in both hospitals and prisons would be of great benefit to the nation." She went on to explain that for this to happen, the Japanese government would need to formally recognise a qualification in homoeopathy, as has happened elsewhere in the world.

To enable this certification process Dr. Yui described the educational system currently applied by the College of Holistic Homoeopathy (CHhom), which conforms to the guidelines issued by ICH and has led to the founding of government certified colleges in India. The curriculum of this specialised school consists of more than 1700 units – double that of an average school in the United Kingdom. Unlike allopathic medicine, homoeopathy requires enhanced studies in anatomy, physiology, and psychology, in addition to an understanding of modern medicine; the homoeopathic practitioner needs to treat both the mind and the body simultaneously.

Regardless of whether the practitioner has a formal medical qualification, both the Japanese Royal Academy of Homoeopathy (JRAH) and the College of Holistic Homoeopathy recognise the requirement for a standardised curriculum, which would enable the skill set required to produce a globally-recognised homoeopathic qualification. To encourage this benchmark of quality, the JPHMA has introduced a qualification test for applicants wishing to obtain the professional homoeopath insurance service it offers.

Dr. Yui strongly recognises the need for co-operation between homoeopaths and practitioners of modern medicine, and believes that such collaborations will be of benefit to both types of practice. She feels that, contrary to the Chairman of the Japanese Physicians Society of Homoeopaths (JPSH), non-medical practitioners should be able to practice homeopathy, as long as they have a recognised qualification – an argument for government-backed certification. Dr. Yui feels that it is important to put aside the divisions between the various schools of homoeopathy and that the time has come to focus on bringing the benefits of homoeopathy to a wider public.

In the spirit of co-operation, and acting on suggestions from the Ministry of Health, the JPHMA has reviewed its research procedures with the intent of producing more objective clinical data that can be used and interpreted by other organisations. Dr Yui has promised to submit precise clinical and scientific data to the Ministry of Health to demonstrate the benefits of recognising homoeopathic practices in Japan. Then the two and a half hour meeting ended.

IMPACT AT THE CHILDREN’S HOMEOPATHY CONGRESS IN GERMANY

In March 2010, over 300 people breathlessly attended a presentation by Dr. Yui, at the Second Children‘s Homoeopathy Congress in Badenweiler. Using video footages, Dr. Yui showed the success of homoeopathic consultation and practice on hyperactive and autistic children.

Developmental problems in children have been widely held to be amongst the most complex and difficult to successfully diagnose and treat by both conventional and homoeopathic medicinal practice. Dr. Yui's conclusions, drawn from her clinical practice, showed that these issues are often the result of harmful side effects caused by vaccinations, conventional medicine, food additives, and environmental pollution.

The attendees at the conference were also pleasantly suprised by Dr. Yui's emphasis on the importance of re-examining the role of Hahnemann. German homoeopaths have been heavily influenced by the teachings of Hahnemann throughout the past two decades and they were impressed to discover that Dr. Yui had been deeply working with experts in classical German to translate Hahnemann's works in Japanese. Furthermore, these translations included footnotes which cross-referenced these texts to related comments in the Organons from 1 to 6. Dr Yui explained how she was influenced by the Bonninghausen Repertory, which originated with the earliest students of Hahnemann, and explained how her theory of "three dimensional prescriptions" was an extension of Hahnemann's theories. She then discussed the high curative rates her methods had amongst those suffering from chronic and iatrogenic disease.

"While homoeopathy is enjoying widespread recognition we are not able to replicate the 85% success rate of cures determined by Hahnemann. This deterioration in the curative success rate is undoubtably due to the appearance of new diseases, "modern" diseases that induce mental health, auto-immune, and child development issues. This became very apparent to me after I moved back to Japan from the UK. The practitioner skills I learnt in the UK were ineffective in Japan; I would successfully treat a patient but the symptoms would always seem to reappear within a year or so. By trial and error, I struggled to adapt my practice to suit the Japanese character and found that focusing on iatrogenic disease and the psychological theories of the "inner child" met with great clinical success. For more than ten years, obligatory vaccination had been imposed nationally and since the American Occupation, after the Second World War, conventional medicine had dominated the culture. As I researched further, I discovered that the Japanese were the highest consumers of pharmaceutical products in the world. Japan was also the world's biggest market for chemical pesticides. I was forced to conclude that traditional homoeopathy would not be effective in Japan and it was through this discovery that I finally arrived at the "three dimensional method" I now practice."

Having opened the JRAH in 1997, Dr. Yui has now opened the CHhom in May of this year. Rosina Sonnenschmitt, a visiting German lecturer expressed her admiration for the curriculum and infrastructure of the JRAH, noting in particular the high level of technological equipment, such as the video conferencing link, and the enthusiasm of the students in German magazine “Raum & Zeit“. I asked Dr. Yui why she had now opened a second, more specialised, school.

RETURNING TO HAHNEMANN'S ROOTS

"I have finally been able to accomplish the opening of the school I have always dreamed of... I like to think of it as returning the compliment to Hahnemann for all the wisdom he has given us. When I was training to be a homoeopath in the UK, I was convinced that Hahnemann's texts were the "genuine article", and this is reflected by the choice of our current textbooks: the "Organon", "Chronic Diseases" and the "Lesser Writings". My own "Materia Medica" is a development of the Bonninghausen Repertory, so Hahnemann has always been present in my development and education. Hahnemann not only teaches us about medicine, but he lets us know that we must show our patients how human beings should live."

LAST MEDICINE INGESTED CONVENTIONAL MEDICINE

"In contrast to allopathic medicines, which suppress symptoms, homoeopathy is a causal treatment which regards symptoms as messages from the body and therefore seeks to discover what is beyond the symptom by applying remedies similar in nature to the symptoms. For thirteen years at the JRAH, we have trained homoeopaths using the standard British curriculum. Now, with the College of Holistic Medicine, we are introducing new elements with alternative treatments examining the inner child, the circulatory system, and the role of flower essences and other herbal products. We also study medical astrology, alchemy, spiritual medicine, and divinity – this is truly integrated homoeopathic medicine."

"In developing the concept of the Chhom, I was inflenced by Paracelcus, particularly his "Labyrinthus Medicorum Erratium". A physician and alchemist from Switzerland, Paracelcus recognised the need to standardise education to create a basis for knowledge, and that this should be done by the creation of a school. In this school, Paracelcus sought to balance the microcosm – the human body – with the macrocosm of Nature, thereby encouraging the study of nature as wisdom from the Creator, the study of divinity and of alchemy. I hope that the CHhom will be such an institute. Paracelcus formulated a great number of modern medical principles, from the use of chemical remedies through to psychology. The "Labyrinthus Medicorum Erratium" is the summary of his theories and could be regarded as the physician's bible. Paracelcus stated that "it is important that physicians listen to herbs and minerals in nature," and gave us the idea of a "Natural Pharmacy". In Japan, we have a natural homoeopathic farm, which is recognised by the Japanese Homoeopathic Foundation, and we believe the remedies we produce there are an energised form of Paracelcus' original medicines. I published the Japanese version of "Labyrinthus Medicorum Erratium" on purpose, when I opened the CHhom."

TRAINING HOMOEOPATHS WHO CAN HEAL BOTH BODY AND SOUL

"There are five year courses on offer in universities and other educational institutes in both Germany and India. While these establishments are more advanced than we are, we can currently offer both a four year part-time course featuring 45 days of lectures per year with electronic learning facilities and clinical observation, and a two year intensive course with a four day week. These courses start with an "awareness" lecture – who am I? Everthing stems from self-awareness and we discover ourselves by recognising who or what causes us distress. In other words, knowing what causes us distress is knowing ourselves. From that beginning, we can look to the world around us, to what life is, to what Nature is, to the fundamentals of human existence. Homoeopaths are physicians who have people's lives in their hands and they cannot heal their clients without self-awareness. It is my intention to train homoeopaths who can heal both body and soul through a specialised technical understanding of homoeopathy and through treating their clients with respect, patience, and sympathy, giving right words to their clients at the right time."

ICH and JPHMA International Conference 2011 on Sun 9 and Mon 10 October 2011

PLEASE JOIN US!!  http://www.jphma.org/congress2010/english.html

Torako Yui’s seminar DVD (English version)

For more details, please contact by email: office@jphma.org

Photos: Hideki Hoshi