Ha, Made You Look!: An Analysis of Medicinal Advertising Strategies and Formats in the Edo Period

With historical context and the theories of semiotics and advertising, this thesis researches the nation-wide network of commercial distribution for medical products and medicinal advertising that scholars in the research field have concluded existed in the Edo period (1603-1868). This is done via analysis of the shapes and formats of medicinal advertisements in the Edo period, together with the analysis of a case study called the Banpōshū 萬寶集 (Collection of Treasures) of 1810. The analysis of the case study involves transcriptions and translations of the work’s preface, catalogue of medicines, and parts of the first medicine described in the advertising pamphlet. The analysis of the various shapes and formats of medicinal advertising in the Edo period uncovered a connection between medicinal advertisements and the travel culture trend that emerged from 1780 and onwards via Meisho zue 名所図会, “illustrations of famous places”. Furthermore, analysis yielded three distinctive advertising...Show moreWith historical context and the theories of semiotics and advertising, this thesis researches the nation-wide network of commercial distribution for medical products and medicinal advertising that scholars in the research field have concluded existed in the Edo period (1603-1868). This is done via analysis of the shapes and formats of medicinal advertisements in the Edo period, together with the analysis of a case study called the Banpōshū 萬寶集 (Collection of Treasures) of 1810. The analysis of the case study involves transcriptions and translations of the work’s preface, catalogue of medicines, and parts of the first medicine described in the advertising pamphlet. The analysis of the various shapes and formats of medicinal advertising in the Edo period uncovered a connection between medicinal advertisements and the travel culture trend that emerged from 1780 and onwards via Meisho zue 名所図会, “illustrations of famous places”. Furthermore, analysis yielded three distinctive advertising tropes, which are also prevalent in the Banpōshū. The ‘dynasty trope’ involves establishing the advertised medicinal products as an ancient recipe, or the advertised store as part of long-lasting line of practitioners that adhere to core principles in medicinal practice in Japan such as traditional Chinese medicine or Buddhism. The ‘cure-all’trope stems from traditional Chinese medicine and is a trope where medicines are described as a “cure-all medicine” or a medicine that remedies various ailments. The ‘endorsement’trope describes the usage of expert, celebrity, or layman endorsers in the advertisement. The analysis of the case study concludes that the Banpōshū is a long-form advertisement of the Osaka based wholesale store of Karamono Wamono Yakushu Baibai Donya 唐物和物薬種売買問屋 and its medicines, targeted at other medicine selling businesses concerned with retail. The advertisements incorporate various advertisement strategies seen in other advertisement formats at the cost of brevity and are influenced by the travel culture trend that strongly related with the Edo medicinal commerce market from 1780 onwards. The Banpōshū’s pages sport various images that portray travel culture-related scenery in the context of medicinal advertising. The author also mentions the diffusing power of travel culture on medicinal products when combined with good advertising.Show less

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Ha, Made You Look! An Analysis of Medicinal Advertising Strategies and Formats in the Edo Period