Vintage Wakamoto Digestive Tablets

Sorting out a box of memorabilia produced a dusty bottle full of crumbled brown pills:

Vintage Wakamoto Digestive Tablets
Vintage Wakamoto Digestive Tablets

The English part of the label:

Indication: Adequate and optimal treatment for gastrointestinal disorders, malnutrition, neurasthenia, tuberculosis, bere-beri, etc. It improves the appetite and promotes health

Dose: 4-8 tablets[,] 3 times a day

WAKAMOTO-HOMPO
EIYOTO-IKUJINO-KAI, CO., LTD.
SHIBA-PARK, TOKYO

My father spent several years on an all-expenses-paid trip to the South Pacific between 1943 and 1945. I have no idea what relation that bottle might have to his adventures, but the English text suggests it’s not a souvenir of those times.

Somewhat surprisingly, Wakamoto is still in business:

Strong Wakamoto Tablets - Amazon
Strong Wakamoto Tablets – Amazon

I’m sure it’s good for what ails you …

5 thoughts on “Vintage Wakamoto Digestive Tablets

  1. “It improves the appetite and promotes health”

    Maybe stamina too? Aimo Koivunen’s “afterburner”.

    Wikipedia (Aimo Koivunen)

    1. have you tried google-translate – or similar – on the Japanese text on the label?
      Maybe that will shed further light!

      1. … fungus … nutrition … enzyme …

        There’s surely meaning trapped inside, trying to claw its way out!

  2. What’s the “Use By” date? Surely they were “responsible and ethical”enough and “concerned for patient welfare” to add one. Sigh. These days, it seems more closely linked to company financial health than that of the patient.

    1. Hey, Wakamoto managed to get this far without that stuff, so why start now? After all, their contemporary pills have the same curative power!

      If the bottle weren’t sealed so nicely, I’d be tempted to huff the contents. Probably fix whatever ails me with vintage-strength action.

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