TOYAMA MEDICINE

TOYAMA MEDICINE.Basic material for producing traditional medicine, displayed in "Kanaoka residence" in Toyama city. From left to right: 1. ?? pronounced as "denshichi" is a kind of ginnseng, 2. ?? pronounced as " borei" is a kind of oyster, 3. ?? pronounced as "yuutan" is black bear's bile and it is a very precious ingredient in Chinese medicine. Currently in Japan it is illegal to hunt bears for their bile or to sell bear's bile, unless under a special license. The ingredient that has replaced it in traditional medicine, is produced synthetically in laboratories of traditional medicine pharmaceutical companies. In China it is still possible to get real bear's bile and animal's rights organizations protest against the cruel ways with which the bile is extracted from living bears through years of keeping them in captivity in bile farms. Kanaoka Residence is a rare museum in Japan that preserves and exhibits a lot of materials of the 300-year history of Toyama's medicine business as well as a wide range of materials relating to Japan's pharmaceutical industry. Its main building retains the characteristic structure of a medicine shop from the early Meiji Era. Araya (family's guesthouse) is an all-cypress building that shows a traditional wooden structure.Toyama prefecture is located near the center of Japan and is approximately the same distance from the three largest cities in Japan-Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. Toyama's pharmaceutical tradition has a more than 300 years history. As it is located on the Japan sea, it is facing China and has been an importer of traditional Chinese medicine knowledge which it developed through the years. There are now approximately 100 manufactures and over 100 factories in Toyama in terms of pharmaceutical products and Toyama prefecture acquires a steady reputation as Japan's medicine manufacturing base.

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TOYAMA MEDICINE.Basic material for producing traditional medicine, displayed in "Kanaoka residence" in Toyama city. From left to right: 1. ?? pronounced as "denshichi" is a kind of ginnseng, 2. ?? pronounced as " borei" is a kind of oyster, 3. ?? pronounced as "yuutan" is black bear's bile and it is a very precious ingredient in Chinese medicine. Currently in Japan it is illegal to hunt bears for their bile or to sell bear's bile, unless under a special license. The ingredient that has replaced it in traditional medicine, is produced synthetically in laboratories of traditional medicine pharmaceutical companies. In China it is still possible to get real bear's bile and animal's rights organizations protest against the cruel ways with which the bile is extracted from living bears through years of keeping them in captivity in bile farms. Kanaoka Residence is a rare museum in Japan that preserves and exhibits a lot of materials of the 300-year history of Toyama's medicine business as well as a wide range of materials relating to Japan's pharmaceutical industry. Its main building retains the characteristic structure of a medicine shop from the early Meiji Era. Araya (family's guesthouse) is an all-cypress building that shows a traditional wooden structure.Toyama prefecture is located near the center of Japan and is approximately the same distance from the three largest cities in Japan-Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. Toyama's pharmaceutical tradition has a more than 300 years history. As it is located on the Japan sea, it is facing China and has been an importer of traditional Chinese medicine knowledge which it developed through the years. There are now approximately 100 manufactures and over 100 factories in Toyama in terms of pharmaceutical products and Toyama prefecture acquires a steady reputation as Japan's medicine manufacturing base.