Hi! I'm writing a fic based in 17th century Japan. There are two main characters, and they are alone, traveling together by horse and mule, with basic provisions like food, water, clothing, and bandages. One of the characters has just been shot by an arrow in the space between his left shoulder and chest, but not puncturing any major organs. The arrow is most of the way through, but not completely.
The two of them have been riding for a short while to escape their attackers, but now they've both stopped near a lake; Character Y, the one shot by the arrow, is in bad condition and has bled a lot, but is not completely unconscious. Character Z, the one treating him, is a native to Japan, lived in the wild by himself for a long time, and uses a bow and arrow as a primary weapon, so would be very knowledgeable in how to treat these wounds even in the somewhat lacking conditions the two of them are in. He is weak after overexerting himself, but not injured the way Character Y is, and is able to treat him.
Can someone please help me with a realistic and efficient way to treat the wound in this time period, using things found in nature and the things found in small traveling pair's basic provisions? I would think that making sure the arrowhead was removed, removing the shaft, and then cleaning (with alcohol or maybe honey?) and bandaging the wound would be sufficient, but I just want to be sure!
Thank you so much!
Zōhyō Monogatari (Tales of Foot Soldiers), edited by Matsudaira Nobuoki, lord of Takasaki, about 1670s to educate his soldiers about the reality of war, includes a fictional story about the removal of an arrow from the head of Kasuke, a zōri-tori* (attendant), with the help of Yasuke, a bumaru (carrier). An English translation seems available in Samurai War Stories: Teachings and Tales of Samurai Warfare by Anthony Cummins and Yoshie Minami.
In it, Kasuke begs Yasuke to bind his head to a tree, and pull out the arrowhead not by hand but with a ketate-bashi (chopsticks with which to repair laces of armor) or kuginuki (nail pincers) gently. Yasuke, with some surgical knowledge, makes Kasuke’s legs crossed and his back straight, tells him not to bend back or forward, lie down, expose the body to the wind, yell, laugh or lose his temper. He keeps him awake by rubbing his nose by koyori (twisted paper string), and feeds him soft-boiled rice, but no water or kayu (rice soup). Finally, he advises him to store his urine in a jingasa hat, saying that he can drink it, or warm it up and wash the wound with it in order to ease the pain. Another bumaru Mosuke says that eating the feces of a gray horse boiled with water will help discharge the blood built up in the belly.
Mangai Shūyō, written by Yamamoto Gensen in 1619, says that spear, gun and arrow wounds should be covered with miso, and heated with moxibustion from 100 to 180 times. He says the purpose is to prevent the wound from closing, which will always lead to internal infection.
The ideas of alcohol disinfection and surgical suturing came from Europe. Nanban-ryū Geka-sho (Book on the Nanban School of Surgery), written by Sawano Chūan, a Portuguese apostate formally named Cristóvão Ferreira, says war wounds should be washed with cotton soaked with heated shōshu (shāojiǔ or shōchū), and sewn with kirikugi (nails with both ends pointed) and hemp thread.
By the way, there were no donkeys or mules in Japan. They were known, but not bred at all.