Abstract
Introduction: This study was performed to investigate the process of introducing a modern hospital pharmaceutical system in Yamanashi Prefecture during the Meiji period.
Method: The following materials were used: Yakugaku Zasshi, Yakuzaishi, and the materials from The National Diet Library Digital Collection, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences Library, and the author's collections.
Results and Discussion: In 1867, the Yamanashi (Kofu) Prefecture government established a new prefectural hospital modeled after the modern European medical system. Physicians could then dispense medicines through the hospital pharmacy. In 1886, Sokichi Hasui began working as a pharmacist at the prefectural hospital. Until the early 1900s, prefectural hospital pharmacies were connected to the Mohan Pharmacy of Tokyo Imperial University, and associates served as pharmacy directors. Owing to the prefecture's financial issues and the hospital's problems, the management of Yamanashi Prefecture Hospital fell into disfavor and the pharmacy directors were replaced for a short period during the first decade of the 20th century until Jugoro Nakakouji assumed the position in 1908. In 1885, a health science laboratory was opened at the prefectural hospital where hospital pharmacists officially conducted public health surveys. The number of surveys conducted at the prefectural hospital decreased when a new laboratory was opened in 1900 at the private Yamanashi Hospital. Pharmacist Jihei Narushima, who later became the mayor of Kofu City, served as the president of the Yamanashi Pharmaceutical Association for many years. The ascendancy of the private Yamanashi Hospital laboratory and the influence of the Yamanashi Pharmaceutical Association prevented hospital pharmacists from playing a driving role in the introduction of the modern pharmaceutical system to Yamanashi Prefecture in the early 20th century.
