The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) maintains a collection of 400 health-themed woodblock prints from 19th-century Japan. The collection -- which includes drug advertisements, illustrated instructions for treating and preventing contagious diseases, and visual guides to the human body -- offers a unique look at Japanese medical knowledge in the late Edo and early Meiji periods. Here are a few images from the collection.
Amazing Medical Advertisments from the Past woodblock prints from 19th-century Japan
By
Editorial Staff in
Amazing
On 9th February 2015
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#1 Ad for Kinder-Puwder, King of Pediatric Drugs -- Morikawa Chikashige, 1880
#2 Chasing measles away -- Utagawa Yoshimori, 1862
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#3 Pills to cure toxic illnesses such as syphilis and gonorrhea -- Artist unknown, late 19th century
#4 Protective gods help good drugs fight evil disease -- Utagawa Yoshikazu, 1858 [+]
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#5 Ad for drug to improve handwriting and reading skills -- Utagawa Yoshitsuya, 1862
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#6 Foods that can be eaten by measles patients -- Utagawa Yoshimori, 1860s
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#7 Eye, ear, nose and hand -- Ochiai Yoshiiku, c. 1865
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#8 Defeating cholera -- Kimura Takejiro, 1886 [+]
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#9 HÅsÅ-e talisman print to ward off smallpox -- Utagawa Toyohisa II, c. 1830
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#10 Three mighty men conquering measles -- Ochiai Yoshiiku, 1870s [+]
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#11 Measles treatment -- Ochiai Yoshiiku, 1862
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#12 Teaching on harmonious body and mind -- Utagawa Yoshikatsu, 1850 [+]
#13 Measles-themed hand game -- Utagawa Yoshitsuya, 1862
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#14 Shinto god from Izumo province for preventing measles -- Taiso Yoshitoshi, 1862
#15 Seller of eyeglasses -- Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1811-1814
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# 16 HÅsÅ-e talisman print to ward off smallpox -- Utagawa Yoshitsuru, c. 1849
#17 Illustrated account of cholera prevention -- Taiso Yoshitoshi, 1877 [+]
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#18 Bodily functions personified as popular kabuki actors -- Artist unknown, late 19th century
#19 Methods for preventing measles -- Utagawa Fusatane, 1858
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#20 Defeating measles (personified as a child) -- Utagawa Yoshifuji, c. 1840
