Okuda Seiyaku was established as Okuda Yakuin in Ikoma district, Nara prefecture in 1897. The founder, Harukichi Okuda originally suffered from a weak stomach therefore studied digestive illnesses independently and afterwards prescribed Okuda Digestive Medicine, which he is said to have walked around distributing for free to the people in his neighborhood.
This was regarded highly and ultimately led to establishment of the company. However, there is no doubt that it was Harukichi’s approach of listening carefully to the concerns and requests of people suffering various symptoms and incorporating this information to improve his medicine which led to establishment of the company.
After this, Okuda Yakuin began manufacturing and selling various Oriental herbal medicines in addition to Okuda Digestive Medicine and became known as “Pharmacy Okuda”.
Of the products available, Okuda Cranial Nerve Medicine is a perfect example of a medicine created by the times. Sale under this product name began in 1956, however during the turbulent era from the Taisho Period (1912-1926) and Showa Period (1926-1989), the medicine which would become the source of Okuda Cranial Nerve Medicine developed based on the needs of many people. It was a gloomy period in Japan’s history, starting with the First Sino-Japanese War and transitioning to the Russo-Japanese War. After Japan’s defeat in World War II, the country went from a restoration period amidst post-war chaos to high economic growth, and people continued working with no time to rest. In other words, stress was a given part of people’s everyday lives. As such, Okuda Cranial Nerve Medicine was not outdated, but rather continued to constantly battle the modern day illness of stress. Meanwhile, generally speaking, people did not think the symptoms that Okuda Cranial Nerve Medicine targets such as irritability, heavy head sensation, hot flushes and dizziness were treatable with medicine, and therefore the product did not sell at all in the beginning. To solve this problem, a sign made from porcelain enamel was erected at the front of the pharmacy directly asserting the effects of the medicine.
This effort paid off, with the number of enquiries to the pharmacy increasing and awareness spreading. This is a prime example of how Okuda Seiyaku remains true to the ideology of our founder, Harukichi Okuda, who went on foot to see people and listen to them talk of their ailments.
The Oriental herbal medicine we have sold in the long years since our founding is truly based on the concept of harmony between people and nature.
Okuda Seiyaku will continue to contemplate how pharmaceutical goods true to the times should be in the hope we can contribute to the healthy lifestyle of people who live at one with nature.