A Study of the Changes of Latin Name of jo-zai in Pharmacopoeias in Meiji Era and Its Etymon of the Word

Abstract

Jo-zai or tablet is a most popular form of pharmaceutical dosage in modern Japan. The term jo-zai first appears in the Japanese Navy Pharmacopoeia, First Edition (1872). Its Latin name was translated as torikisuki and was written in Japanese katakana characters. Jo-zai translated as trochischi can also be found in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, First Edition (JP1) (1897)． Its Latin name and definition have changed several times : trochisichi ; pastilli, JP3 (1906) ; tablettae, JP5 (1932) ; tabellae : JP6 (1951), etc． The etymon of the word jo-zai is based on the English word, lozenge. Its square-shaped form is similar to old Japanese silver coins. During Japan's Edo era (1603-1868) and in ancient China, silver coins were called jo. Therefore the word lozenge was translated into Japanese as jo-zai，combining the character for coin with the one for drug, zai.