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Old Japanese medicine bottles?

rintaro

後輩
14 Jul 2010
2
0
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Hi everyone, I live in Hawaii and I collect old Japanese glass bottles that I find in old sugar cain plantation camps. Most of the glass bottles are about 5-10 CM tall and most are clear or amber or cobalt blue in color, most have Kanji on the bottle but some do not.
I do not know what they were used for but I have found a few pictures, one said- EYE DROP BATH BOTTLE TOKYO ROTHO PHARMACY, and another one said-stomach medicine sold by YASUKAWA KOEIDO Pharmacy from the mid-Meiji to early Showa eras, there are many other bottles and I would like to get some to add to my collection, my questions is.
Does anyone know of any plase in Japan that might sell these old glass bottles or does anyone know where I can get more information on these glass bottles, like books or websites? Any information would be great, thanks you very muce and aloha.

Rintaro
 
I'm pretty sure you are correct that they are medicine bottles. I have relatives working in medicine and have seen such bottles when I was a kid.

Rohto is operating as a major business corporation specializing chiefly in eye drops.
Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

I couldn't find Yasukawa, so it must be either closed or bought out by larger companies.

There are many hobbyists in Japan collecting almost anything I can think of, so there must be people like you. However, I couldn't find any collector websites dedicated to old medicine bottles, but there are people buying and selling them on Yahoo Japan auctions:
Yahoo auctions

There is a site selling these bottles as fashionable interior decor items.
ナチュラル雑貨,ドロッグリ,薬用瓶,アンティーク,レトロ時計,通信販売,雑貨販売

There may be books (or most likely magazines) but that will require an extensive hunt, especially if they are out of print... 😌

Maybe you should set up a blog or website with photos of your collection to attract people who share your interests? (Just a thought.)
 
Hi Epigene, thank you very much for your reply, you are right in all you said and the links you provided are perfect, the Yahoo Japan is perfect and has some nice things I would like to get, now I need to find some one in Japan how can bid on Yahoo Japan because I can not read or speak Japanese good enough. Thanks again and Aloha.

Rintaro :)
 
Hi
I have about 15 empty medicine bottles that i really just don't want to throw in the garbag, Thus there must be a better way.
 
Japanese glass bottles

Aloha Rintaro
It is difficult to find beautiful bottles even in Japan. But I have thousands of bottles now. Almost of them are blue with embossed Kanji logos Rintaro. Cobalto blue bottoles are much rare . If you want more information , contact me at timberbrucke @gmail.com[/email]
. I will be able to help you Regards, Timberbrucke
 
There are lots of ways you can get your hands on antique glass bottles. The obvious choice would be to visit flea markets or auctions which are typical places for finding old bottles. However, you could find some antique bottles while cleaning out your attics, in an old shed in your backyard, sticking out of a construction site or just along the side of the road. Recently, there has been a new hobby created called "bottle digging" or "privy digging." It is basically raveling down old roads or hiking and looking for old bottles. The easiest way to determine the age of vintage bottle which you found is to have a look at objects that surrounded it. If you found plastic bags right next to the bottle than it is probably just a replica and is not worth much. The crucial thing before looking for antique glass bottles in any property is to find out who is owner of the land and ask for his or her permission.
 
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