Drug Information Q&A Q3. How have Japanese people been dealing with drugs?
Answer
The usefulness of drugs has been known since the Nara period (710-794), but it was not until the Edo period (1603-1868) that the general public became able to use drugs. The shogunate encouraged the production of medicines, and drug wholesalers and drug stores were set up so that people could have their medicines prepared by doctors or purchase them.
Explanation
The climactic scene of the well-known Mito Komon, in which the Tokugawa family's hollyhock, Aoi Aoi, is seen in the foreground, is a scene that is well-known to all of us.
Did you know that the inro (medicine case) with the Tokugawa family's hollyhock crest on it is actually a medicine case? Samurai warriors in the Edo period (1603-1867) used the inro as a container for carrying medicines. In modern times, it would be called a pill case.
By the way, Mito Komon has a long association with medicines. Mitsukuni, a.k.a. Mitsukuni-sama, lord of the Mito Tokugawa clan, ordered the clan doctor to produce a book of medicines called Kyumin Myoyaku (1693). This book was intended for the common people and contained information on the use of familiar medicinal herbs and daily health practices, etc. It was a book of know-how to enable common people who did not have access to medicines or could not receive medical treatment to prepare their own medicines. Written in plain language so that anyone could easily understand it, the book became a long seller not only during the Edo period, but also through the Meiji and Taisho eras.
Mitsukuni was a feudal lord, so in reality he was not able to travel around the country as comfortably as he did on TV or in movies, but the "Sukaimin Myoyaku" that Mitsukuni had produced was read throughout the country in place of Kimon-sama, and helped people who were ill.
For example, Kakudan-to, which is still known today as a cold remedy, is made mainly from kudzu root, which is effective in reducing perspiration and fever, combined with mao-o, taiso (Chinese date), and keishi (cinnamon).
Shosaikotou, a remedy for chronic hepatitis, is a medicine made mainly from saikotou, the root of the Mishima periwinkle, a member of the parsley family, which has been believed to be effective for liver diseases since ancient times, combined with hanmatsu, yangchen, daozao, ginseng, and other herbs.
Doctors in the Edo period diagnosed patients, adjusted the amounts of these ingredients according to their symptoms, and prescribed them.
Many of these medicines, which are now called Chinese herbal medicines, were medical drugs (see Q15) at that time.
Chart/Column
3｜Hyakumi chest for house calls
A medicine box for house calls reportedly dating from the late Edo period. When in use, it unfolds to the left and right (size = 20 x 49 x 40 cm).
Source: Collection of Naito Museum of Pharmaceutical Science
MINI Column: Using medicines for prevention
Herbal medicines and folk remedies are often thought of as "old-fashioned," but there are some that we continue to use today without even knowing it. For example, there is toso (toso), which is served on New Year's Day, and nanakusa (seven herbs) gruel, which is served on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar.
As the name "tokoso" implies, it is a kind of medicinal drink. It contains several herbal medicines such as Kikyo, Baijiu, Bofu, and Sansho, most of which are used to treat colds and stomach problems. Also, many of the herbs used in the seven herbs gruel, such as seri, nazuna, gogyo, hakobera, hotokenoza, suzuna, and tinashiro, were also used as remedies for colds and stomachs. These medicines were used to prevent colds during the cold season and to improve the function of the stomach in order to keep one's health. In other words, it is the modern concept of preventive medicine.
People in the past taught us that medicines not only treat illness and injury, but also play an important role as preventive medicine.
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