This longevity charm is illustrated with three Dutchmen, the leftmost identified by inscription as Opperhoofd Herman Christiaan Kastens, chief factor at Deshima, Nagasaki, in 1766-7 and 1769. The main text summarises some principles of moxibustion, a Chinese medical therapy where dried mugwort is burnt on acupuncture points in the body to invigorate the flow of qi, or vital energy. Medical exchanges between Japanese and European doctors became regularised in the Edo period (1603-1867), particularly at the Dutch trading post of Dejima, and at the Tokugawa court.
