376  Drug  Trade  in  Japan  and  the  Orient.    { AJAugust,T904.rm* 
THE  DRUG  TRADE  IN  JAPAN  AND  THE  ORIENT  AS 
SEEN  BY  A  DRUG  TRAVELER.1 
By  Kugenk  Ross. 
While  Japan  has  contributed  a  very  fair  number  to  the  list  of 
prominent  living  chemists  of  to-day,  it  was  not  until  within  recent 
years  that  pharmacy  received  Government  support.  There  are  very 
stringent  laws  regulating  the  practice  of  medicine,  as  well  as  numerous 
schools  for  the  education  of  doctors  throughout  the  empire,  and  it 
is  very  apparent  that  the  reason  for  this  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  doctors  in  Japan  furnished  the  medicine  with  a  single  fee  for 
medical  advice. 
The  first  official  Pharmacopoeia  in  Japan  had  its  origin  about 
nineteen  years  ago,  and  this  was  modeled  after  the  German.  The 
German  influence  was  paramount ;  professors  from  that  country  were 
brought  over  and  taught  the  science  of  medicine,  and  this  influence 
carried  when  the  Government  finally  encouraged  the  advancement 
of  pharmacy  by  establishing  pharmaceutical  preparatory  schools 
throughout  Japan.  The  German  influence  was  so  pronounced  that 
all  medical  papers  as  well  as  the  pharmaceutical  text-books  were 
printed  in  German,  giving  at  the  same  time  the  Japanese  translation. 
This  influence  was  further  exerted  to  the  end  that  the  chemicals 
imported  into  Japan  for  a  number  of  years  were  practically  all  of 
German  makes,  preferential  duty  privileges  being  directed  to  this 
channel. 
Pharmacy  as  applied  in  Japan  may  be  divided  into  two  classes — 
the  chemist,  who  receives  the  title  Master  of  Medicine  or  Yakuzai 
Shi,  and  the  Baiyuka,  the  dealer  in  patent  medicines  or  prepared 
remedies. 
The  chemist  can  open  a  pharmacy  and  dispense  prescriptions ;  he 
is  likewise  licensed  to  examine  and  pass  upon  all  drugs  and  chemi- 
cals brought  into  the  country,  and  for  this  latter  service  he  receives 
from  the  applicant,  who  furnishes  the  drug  for  examination,  a  fee. 
All  drugs  and  chemicals  brought  into  and  sold  in  Japan  must  be 
examined,  and  a  certificate  guaranteeing  their  qualities  according 
to  the  Pharmacopoeia  standard  must  be  attached  to  every  package 
x~NLr.  Eugene  Ross,  foreign  traveler  for  Johnson  &  Johnson,  gave  an  account 
of  his  journeys  in  the  Far  Bast,  covering  a  period  of  over  two  years,  at  the 
pharmaceutical  meeting  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy,  on  May  16th. 
