In ancient times, people made medicines from trees, plants, minerals, and other natural sources
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Pharmaceuticals are used in the human body to prevent or help cure diseases. The history of drugs is very old and is said to overlap with the history of humanity.
Humans have been searching for drugs for injuries and illnesses from animals, plants, minerals, and other natural resources, and have used them as medicines to treat illnesses.
The earliest records of medicines are found in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China. In Japan, plants believed to have been used as medicines were discovered in the remains of the Jomon people's dwellings over 10,000 years ago.
In Japan, the government (the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare or the prefectural governor) conducts an inspection of the quality, efficacy, and safety of drugs, and only those that pass the inspection are sold.
Only those products that have passed the quality, efficacy, and safety inspections are sold.
The Kojiki, a very old Japanese book, contains stories related to medicines. The most famous of these is the story of Okuninushi no Mikoto and the White Hare of Inaba.
One day, Okuninushi met a rabbit that had been skinned by a shark and was crying. He told the rabbit to wash its body in fresh water and then sprinkle its body with the pollen of the Gamma plant. The rabbit grew hair and was able to return to its original form.
The pollen of the Gamma mentioned in the story is said to stop the blood and relieve pain .
The first full-fledged medicines, similar to those used today, were introduced to Japan around the 6th century. Plants used to make medicines were sent from the Korean peninsula, and Prince Shotoku Taishi carefully cultivated and increased them. Prince Shotoku carefully cultivated and multiplied the plants. It is said that he used the plants to make and prepare medicines, which he shared with the sick and the poor.
In the old days, medicines were mainly made from plants. For example, the seven herbs gruel eaten on January 7 is one of them in modern times. The seven spring herbs used in this rice porridge were also used in the old days as medicines for colds and stomach problems.
Originally, inlaws were used to hold seals, but from the Edo period (1603-1867), people began to make portable ones that were easy to carry, and it is said that people started carrying them around with medicines in them.
