Bibliometric analysis of Kampo medicine hotspots and trends for the decade: 2013–2022

BACKGROUND: Kampo medicine is a traditional medicine that originated in ancient China and has since developed as a uniquely Japanese medicine. Although Kampo medicine is one of Japan’s most important therapeutic modalities and numerous papers have been published recently, information on current hotspots and trends in Kampo research is lacking. This bibliometric analysis of Kampo medicine surveyed the latest research hotspots and trends. METHODS: Articles on Kampo medicine were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. We used medical subject headings related to Kampo medicine and searched for publications from 2013 to 2022. The retrieved articles were analyzed for countries, authors, journals, references, and keywords related to Kampo medicine using CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and SCImago Graphica. RESULTS: A total of 1170 articles were included. The number of Kampo medicine-related publications and citations has recently increased, mainly from Japan. Author Keiko Ogawa-Ochiai published the most papers (40 papers), while Yoshio Kase had the highest frequency at 663 citations. Among the co-cited authors, Toru Kono was the most cited and had the highest total link strength. The journal with the most submissions was Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. A comprehensive keyword and literature analysis revealed the following research hotspots: “Yokukansan and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia,” “Ninjinyoeito and geriatric care,” “Daikenchuto and postoperative gastrointestinal cancer,” and “Rikkunshito and functional dyspepsia.” We also identified a new research frontier by identifying an association between hochuekkito and COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings reveal trends in Kampo medicine research, with specific hotspots and the authors and publications with the largest research impact. Collecting a large volume of literature data, analyzing the impact of studies, and identifying research hotspots, as in this study, will provide researchers with future directions for Kampo research.