LINEAGE OF KATAGIRI SEIRYU-DO

We can trace our ancestor back to the Mega family in the Kamakura period(the
13th Century). During the Resurgence of Kembu(1334)Mega Magosaburo-Nagamune,
one of our ancestors,had engaged in the war. He excelled not on1y as a warior
but also in medicine.Since then the art of medicne has been in our family
tradition.

At the War of Bunroku(end of the 16th Century) another of our ancestors was
given a new family name,as well as a land to govern. as a remuneration for
his performance in the war,and he became Onzoro Jirozaemon.Henceforth our
family has been well established in medicine.The knowledge of medicne in our
family includes the Western medicine,and there still remain several of
apothecary jars and pots from Luzon and Holland.

During the Edo period,we changed our family name three times,and finally
settled at the present name,Katagiri.In the Bunka era(mid 17th Century)
0tonosuke-Masanori first assumed the Katagiri family name.laid out his garden
and built seven tea houses in there. The old store buildings of our present
Katagiri Seiryu-do are what still remain from that time.At the same time,
members of the Katagiris abandoned being Samurai-warior,and associated them-
selves with Feudal Lords and men of letters in various places.

It happend that a girl from the Shimazu Feudal Clan in Kyushu Island,a daughter
of a physician.had been staying at the Katagiri household.When she was.
passing. she left with the Katagiris,as her expression of gratitude,a
secret prescription for gynecological medicine,which she had learned from
her father.An outstanding efficacy of the medicine made the Katagiris to
register with the Government and to promote it as one of their family tradition
specialties in Kampo medicine when the Proprietary Drug Law of the 4th year of
MeiJi(1871)came into being.

We are proud to say that Katagiri Seiryu-do,has inherited wealth of knowledge
from both Kampo.the Traditional Chinese Medicine,and the ancient Japanese
Medicne.

0ur house name,Katagiri Seiryu-do,derived from "Kanryu(literally meaning
a comfortabl dragon),"the given name succeeded from generation to generation
for the head of house hold,hence having dual meaning that the house wherein a
dragon lives,and that the house built upon a dragon den.



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