''Uirō'' ( or 外郎) sold by Uirō Company in

Odawara, Kanagawa is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in ...

, usually is a well-known traditional Japanese

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

Origin of ''uirō''

The origin of ''uirō'' in Odawara goes back to 14th-century China. Chin En-yū (陳延祐, Chen Yanyou in

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

), a medical doctor in Taizhou,

Zhejiang Province ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

, moved to Japan as the

Yuan Dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

was replaced by the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

. He arrived in Hakata, and practiced medicine, calling himself Chin Gairō (陳外郎, Chen Wailang), using the title of his Yuan Dynasty government. He was invited several times to

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

to serve

Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was the third '' shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate, ruling from 1368 to 1394 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshimitsu was Ashikaga Yoshiakira's third son but the oldest son to survive, his childhood name being Haruō (). Yoshimitsu ...

, the

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

, but he declined. He later became a Buddhist monk, assumed the name of Sokei (宗敬), and died in Hakata. His son, Sōki (宗奇), moved to Kyoto, and was sent to his father's home town of Taizhou, China. He brought the recipe for Reihōtan medicine (霊宝丹), which was such an effective medicine for many diseases that it was given the name of "Tōchinkō" (透頂香) by the emperor because of its special fragrance. It was also called Uirō, an alternative of the Zhejiang pronunciation of "Wailang", the government title of his father. Sōki entertained foreign guests with special cakes, which were called "Uirō cakes". Jōyu, Sōki's son, was a man of high esteem. His son, Soden (祖田), was also so respected that Soden's eldest son, Sadaharu (定治), was given the family name of Uno (宇野) by shōgun

Ashikaga Yoshimasa "Ashikaga Yoshimasa" in ''Encyclopædia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. was the eighth ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1449 to 1473 du ...

. Uno Sadaharu moved to

Odawara is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 188,482 and a population density of 1,700 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Odawara lies in the Ashigara Plains, in ...

in 1504 at the invitation of Hojo Soun and the descendants of Chin Gairō have made Uirō medicine there ever since. Recent research shows that Uirō medicine was available in both Kyoto and Odawara until the Genroku Period of the late 17th century. Uirō cakes became available in Odawara during the

Meiji Period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

in the late 19th century.

Medicine

Uirō medicine comes in small silvery

pill Pill or The Pill may refer to: Drugs * Pill (pharmacy), referring to anything small for a specific dose of medicine * "The Pill", a general nickname for the combined oral contraceptive pill Film and television * ''The Pill'' (film), a 2011 fil ...

s, much like

Jintan Jintan District is a District (China), district under the administration of Changzhou in the Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. History Jintan, known as Jinshan () in ancient times, was a township of Yanling commandery since ...

pills. A typical package contains 428 pills in three plastic bags. It is considered a good remedy for stomachache,

headache A headache, also known as cephalalgia, is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of Depression (mood), depression in those with severe ...

giddiness Dizziness is an imprecise term that can refer to a sense of disorientation in space, vertigo, or lightheadedness. It can also refer to disequilibrium or a non-specific feeling, such as giddiness or foolishness. Dizziness is a common medical ...

, and other routine conditions. Its ingredients include

ginseng Ginseng () is the root of plants in the genus ''Panax'', such as South China ginseng (''Panax notoginseng, P. notoginseng''), Korean ginseng (''Panax ginseng, P. ginseng''), and American ginseng (''American ginseng, P. quinquefol ...

musk Musk is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial substances with similar odors. ' ...

borneol Borneol is a bicyclic organic compound and a terpene derivative. The hydroxyl group in this compound is placed in an '' endo'' position. The exo diastereomer is called isoborneol. Being chiral, borneol exists as enantiomers, both of which are fou ...

, and

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

bark. From the Uirō medicine package

In Japanese culture

There are two famous mentions on Odawara's Uirō in the Japanese literature,

Uirō salesman in Kabuki

"Uirō Salesman" () is one of the Eighteen Popular Kabuki Scenes. It is from the ''Soga Brothers' Revenge'', and is one of the brothers' rapid sales talk about the Uirō medicine and its merits.

Yaji and Kita's stay at Odawara Station

Jippensha Ikku was the pen name of Shigeta Sadakazu (重田貞一), a Japanese writer active during the late Edo period of Japan. He was among the most prolific writers of the late Edo period — between 1795 and 1801 he wrote a minimum of twenty novel ...

wrote a famous, funny story of Yaji and Kita through the 53 stations of the old Tokaido Road, from

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

in ''

Tōkaidōchū Hizakurige , abbreviated as ''Hizakurige'' () and known in translation as ''Shank's mare, Shank's Mare'', is a comic picaresque novel (kokkeibon) written by Jippensha Ikku (十返舎一九, 1765–1831) about the misadventures of two travelers on the Tōka ...

'', published between 1802 and 1822. At

Odawara Station is a junction and interchange railway station located in the city of Odawara, Kanagawa, Japan, operated jointly by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and Central Japan Railway Company (JR Tōkai). It is a gateway station to the Hakone a ...

, they buy Uirō, thinking it is a cake, but find it is medicine.

References

External links

*
Official site of Uiro Co., Ltd.
(in Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Uiro (Japanese medicine) Japanese brands Odawara Oral hygiene Traditional Japanese medicine