David Ramey, DVM

David Ramey's Lost Traditions: Horses and Horse Medicine in Pre-Modern Japan is an encyclopedic exploration of the roles of horses and equine care in early Japan. Anchored by a previously unstudied 15th-century manuscript on equine medicine, the volume is divided into three parts: a historical examination of horses and their roles in early Japan (Part I), a transcription and translation of the manuscript (Part II), and an in-depth discussion of traditional Japanese equine medicine (Part III). The latter offers especially fascinating insights into topics like "demons, deities, and protectors of animals" and "sickness and Sino-Japanese cosmology."This beautifully crafted volume will appeal to diverse audiences. For horse-lovers and Japanophiles, it offers a remarkably detailed mosaic of facts about Japanese horses that opens fresh perspectives on the medieval and early modern periods. For students of early Japanese texts, the hand-brushed manuscript is transcribed into printed classical Japanese and translated into English, offering an accessible yet authentic engagement with the original. Lavishly illustrated with full-color images and printed on high-quality paper, this unique book also invites readers with no prior knowledge of Japan or horses to explore a world that is both exotic and richly detailed.

W, Puck Brecher, PhD
Professor of History
(specializing in early modern and modern Japanese social and cultural history)
Washington State University