A Medicated Empire: The Pharmaceutical Industry and Modern Japan

Timothy M. Yang's book "A Medicated Empire" explores the history of Japan's pharmaceutical industry in the early twentieth century, focusing on Hoshi Pharmaceuticals and its connections to Japan's emerging nation-state and empire. He shows how the industry promoted a hygienic, middle-class culture that was part of Japan's national development and imperial expansion, but its fortunes were less due to scientific breakthroughs and medical innovations than to Japan's web of social, political, and economic relations.

Format: Hardback
Length: 354 pages
Publication date: 15 June 2021
Publisher: Cornell University Press

In his captivating book, "A Medicated Empire," Timothy M. Yang delves into the rich history of Japan's pharmaceutical industry during the early twentieth century. Through a detailed examination of Hoshi Pharmaceuticals, one of East Asia's most influential drug companies from the late 1910s to the early 1950s, Yang offers a profound exploration of the era.

By focusing on Hoshi's connections to Japan's emerging nation-state and empire, as well as its embrace of modern medicine as a humanitarian endeavor for greater social good, Yang unveils how the industry played a pivotal role in promoting a hygienic, middle-class culture that was integral to Japan's national development and imperial expansion.

What sets this book apart is Yang's meticulous attention to the intricate web of social, political, and economic relations that shaped Hoshi's fortunes. He meticulously uncovers the company's business strategies and its close connections with politicians and bureaucrats, shedding light on the ways in which public health authorities dismissed many of Hoshi's products as mere placebos or, at worst, as poisons.

Yang's analysis goes beyond Hoshi alone, as he combines global histories of business, medicine, and imperialism to provide a comprehensive understanding of the development of the pharmaceutical industry. He shows how this industry simultaneously supported and subverted regimes of public health both at home and abroad.

Through his meticulous research and engaging storytelling, Yang offers a fresh perspective on the complex interplay between medicine, business, and power in the early twentieth century. "A Medicated Empire" is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of pharmaceuticals, medicine, and imperialism, as well as the broader social and cultural transformations of the time.

Weight: 28g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781501756245