We are studying how cinchona, one of the most important medicinal plants, was introduced and cultivated in Japan. As part of this research, here we report on cinchona cultivation at the Koshun nettai syokubutu syokuikujo (Hengchun Tropical Plant Cultivation Farm; now the Hengchun Branch of the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute) in Taiwan, which was under Japanese colonial rule from 1895. The Koshun-nettaisyokubutusyokuikujo was established in 1901 by the Governor-General of Taiwan at Hengchun in southern Taiwan, as a cultivation facility for useful plants. The person who directly conducted the construction and operation of the facility was Yasusada Tashiro. For approximately ten years (1901-1910), he strived to construct the cultivation farm and grow plants of economic value. Among many plants of which cultivation attempts were made was cinchona. Tashiro was also the first person in Japan who attempted to cultivate cinchona (in 1882) and thus, his attempt to cultivate cinchona in Hengchun, Taiwan, was the second chalenge for him. With the cooperation of Motoo Higuchi, a staff with outstanding skills in cultivation, Tashiro began to see the prospects for cinchona domestication. However, Higuchi was suddenly fired from his job at the cultivation farm. In the aftermath, cinchona seedlings that they had cultivated up to that time gradually started to wither and subsequently, cinchona cultivation at the cultivation farm ended in failure. Tashiro was disappointed; nevertheless, the technical experience gained from cinchona cultivation at the cultivation farm was very valuable and proved to be greatly useful later in life.

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We are studying how cinchona, one of the most important medicinal plants, was introduced and cultivated in Japan. We already mentioned that in the process, two cultivation attempts were made: the first in Japan in 1882, and the second in the Taiwanese town of Hengchun in approximately 1900, when Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule. Yasusada Tashiro was behind those two cinchona cultivation attempts; however, they both ended in failure. Later, Tashiro became an employee of Hoshi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and in 1922, succeeded for the first time in cultivating cinchona at the company-owned cinchona field in Taiwan. This third challenge for him finally led to success. Hoshi Pharmaceutical went on further to produce cinchona bark from the cultivated tree for the first time in 1934, and also succeeded in extracting quinine from the bark. This was a historic feat in the Japanese pharmaceutical industry, completing an entire process from cinchona cultivation to quinine manufacture all within the confines of the country. In this report, we describe the historical background and involvement of Yasusada Tashiro, who was instrumental to the success of cinchona cultivation in the company. Furthermore, we reveal that a log of unknown origin, which had been left untouched for years at Hoshi University, was the cinchona log from the time when Hoshi Pharmaceutical succeeded in the cultivation.

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This study investigates the use of ethics education to build a sense of mission and responsibility in pharmacy students in post-war Japanese Universities. From 1947 to 1970, ethics ed ucation depended on the philosophy of each university. In 1992, partial amedment of the Medical Service Act (Iryou Hou) brought a big change to the role of pharmacists. In 1997, the ethical code for pharmacists was redrafted to reaffirm the roles and responsibilities of pharmacists. In the same year, the FIP statement of professional standards: codes of ethics for pharmacists was adopted In 2002, a core curriculum for pharmaceutical education was completed by the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan. In 2006, a six year pharmacy education system started. The first cohort of students will graduate in the spring of 2012. Some ethics education training materials used to build a sense of mission and responsibility in pharmacy students have been developed. Studies on the feasibility of these training materials were performed at two universities on approximately 500 first-year students. A vailability of the materials is discussed. Furture proposals for the education are also outlined.

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Valerian, a plant closely resembling Japanese valerian (Valeriana fauriei Briquet) has been listed in the Japanese pharmacopoeia (JP). n JP VIII (1971), the origin is stated as Valeriana officinalis Linne var latifolia Miquel. Valerian was listed in the 1926 United States pharmacopoeia (USP) and the 1932 British pharmacopoeia (BP). It was deleted from the USP and BP after that. However, Valerian was listed again in the BP in 1980 and in the USP twenty years after that in 2000. In this study, we discuss transitions of the standards and test methods of valerian described in the USP (2000-2011) and BP (1980-2011) and compare the USP and BP. The objective is to study to the pharmacological evaluation of valerian in USA and Britain. The standards and the test methods of valerianin early entries mainly described botanic characteristics together with macroscopic and microscopic features. However after valerian was listed again, the entries newly included identification tests, purity tests, standards and qualitative analysis of the components containing valerian used in mechanical analysis. This is based on the chemical properties and is a common feature in the USP and BP. There were some differences found in the items and the contents of the standards and the test methods of valerian when comparing the present USP and BP. It is thought that this reflects differences in the sense of values in pharmacy for the scientific aspects of valerian between USA and Britain. However, after Valerian was listed again, the standards and the test methods of valerian in the USP and BP included substantial information on chemical aspects. This sufficiently reflects the progress of the pharmacological level. Another factor is the increase in demand for valerian in the US and British markets in recent years. In addition, every time an amendment has been made to the USP and BP, the valerian drugs have increased. This is considered to be a necessary requirement for valerian to be listed again and to amend the standards and test methods of valerian in the USP and BP. As described above, valerian has been listed again in the USP and BP in recent years. A factor in this reevaluation of valerian is thought to be based on the increase in the demand in the markets of each country. t is necessary to examine the changes in the circulation of valerian in each country in recent years and investigate the reason that valerian was reevaluated in the market and the USP and BP.

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It is well-known worldwide that Louis Pasteur was a great physical chemist in fields such as crystallography, microbiology and immunology. From 1848 to 1858, he developed three optical resolution procedures (preferential crystallization, diastereomeric and enzymatic methods); these resolution techniques became more advanced through amino acid chemistry (synthesis- resolution), as synthetic (DL-) alfa-amino acids could eventually be prepared using chemical techniques developed in Europe during the 19th century. In 1908, the Japanese chemist Dr. Kikunae Ikeda discovered a delicious tasting constituent in kelp, namely L-glutamic acid soda, which was rapidly industrialized by Saburosuke Suzuki (the present Ajinomoto Co., Inc.) utilizing the hydrolysis method of wheat and soybean proteins. In addition, to make up for the lack of protein created by the food shortage in Japan after World War II, the major Japanese pharmaceutical companies focused on the industrial production of L-alfa-amino acids. As a result, Tanabe Seiyaku developed synthesis-resolution and enzymatic industrial methods of amino acids in the Kansai area, and Ajinomoto and Kyowa Hakko successfully industrialized the fermentation of amino acids in the Kanto area. In conclusion, it is clear that the three optical resolution procedures discovered by L. Pasteur greatly advanced the amino acid industry in Japan.

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The term dry laboratory in this paper refers to non-experimental pharmaceuticallaboratories and researchers in the field of social and clinical pharmaceutical sciences. Given that Iyaku bungyo (i.e., separation of drug prescribing and dispensing) could not be achieved during the Meiji era, Japanese pharmaceutical sciences, which were alienated from medical care, came to develop independently, with experimental sciences (eg., organic chemistry) forming their base. This gave rise to the notion that non-experimental pharmaceutical sciences were not legitimate. The history of dry laboratories in Japan can be reformulated as the history of interactions between pharmaceutical sciences and society. The origins of the dry laboratory can be tracecl to the Tokyo Imperial University's Department of Hygienic and Forensic Chemistry (established in 1893). While hygienic pharmaceutical sciences are mainly comprised of experimental sciencesin Japan, they also dealt with issues related to social living, and include non-experimental components. The uncertain status of the drylaboratory continued for many years until the advent of Iyaku bungyo. The Department of Administrative Pharmacy of the School of Pharmacy at Nihon University has a history extending over 50 years, beginning with the establishment of the Department of Business Administration in 1956, the year that the Iyaku bungyo Law was enacted. As substantial separation of drug prescribing and dispensing activities began in 1974 and as efforts related to clinical and social pharmaceutical sciences became necessary, the number of dry laboratories began to rise. Although scarce, dry laboratories have gradualy increased due to developments in the current century, such as advances in regulatory science, the implementation of six-year pharmacist education programs in 2006, as well as the initiation of four-year graduate school programs to accept these graduate in 2012. The websites of pharmaceutical schools were used to ascertain the current status of dry laboratories. The founding of the Japanese Society for History of Pharmacy in 1954 marked the beginning of dry laboratories as a discipline (as organizations and research groups) that extends beyond the framework of the school setting. More than ten such organizations currently exist. Although lateral communication among these organizations is limited, the time has clearly come for the development of a communications network to bring them together for further advances not only in social pharmaceutical sciences, but pharmaceutical sciences in general. Pharmaceutical sciences can be roughly divided into basic, clinical and social pharmaceutical sciences, and in this order their field of focus broadens. Further improvements of dry laboratories are a desirable way to solidify the position of pharmaceutical science.

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The etymon of the Japanese word nyu-bachi (mortar) is unknown. The first step in the research process is to consult books on chemistry and pharmacy published in the 1870s, the first decade of the Meiji era when Japan began to modernize. The word nyu-bachi can be found in the Shogaku-Kagaku-Sho, published in 1874. Before 1873, the word usu (mil) is used in place of hachi or bachi, which also mean mortar. Before 1873, mills / mortars were used for crushing and grincling. In books published after 1873, one can find references in several books on chemistry and pharmacy to their use in mixing and dispensing. More in-depth research in the areas of pharmacy and Western-style cooking is necessary to determine the etymon.

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