In the past, many Japanese homes had a medicine box.
Cold medicine.
Stomach medicine.
Bandages.
The medicines were already there,
and people only paid for what they used later.
Some people may still remember this system.
In Japan,
this culture of “home medicine” still remains in some areas today.
Now there are drugstores everywhere.
Online shopping is common too.
And yet,
the system has not completely disappeared.
Why?
Long ago,
many areas were far from hospitals or pharmacies.
Snow.
Mountains.
Typhoons.
Perhaps there were times when
“buying medicine only when needed”
was not enough.
So people kept medicine at home.
In a way,
it may be part of Japan’s culture of “preparing in advance,”
similar to disaster supplies.
Other countries also once had traveling medicine sellers.
However,
a system where medicine boxes are left in homes,
checked regularly,
and paid for afterward,
still remaining in daily life today,
may be somewhat unique to Japan.
In many countries,
people are more likely to go to a pharmacy only when needed.
They buy medicine themselves
at pharmacies or supermarkets.
Japanese home medicine, on the other hand,
feels closer to
“the comfort of having something prepared just in case.”
When checking medicines brought by patients,
sometimes I see medicines so old that I wonder,
“When was this prescribed?”
Medicine kept at home
can easily remain there for years.
In that sense,
a system that regularly checks the contents
and replaces old medicines
may actually provide a certain kind of reassurance.
Of course,
having medicine at home
does not automatically mean safety.
Expiration dates.
Drug interactions.
Who is taking the medicine.
These things still matter.
Even so,
perhaps home medicine culture still remains in Japan today
because it offers a kind of reassurance
that goes beyond efficiency.
Leaving medicine at home.
Checking it regularly.
Having small conversations.
Perhaps there is
not only medicine there,
but also the comfort that comes from human connection.
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▶︎☆ Between Medicine and People｜Article Collection