Its large medical library is now one of the principal antique documents holdings of the National Archives of Japan.
[3] Under the roju Matsudaira Sadanobu, the quality of doctors in Edo was bad, prompting the Shogunate to open a medical school.
The Seijukan itself was opened in 1765 by a former doctor of the Shogunate, Taki Mototaka (多紀元孝).
Initially located in Kanda-Sakumacho, it burnt down in 1806 and moved to Mukō-Yanagiwaramachi, present day Asakusabashi 4-16.
Starting 1849, all books released related to medecine in Japan were to be approved by the Igakukan.