The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) maintains a collection of 400 health-themed woodblock prints from 19th-century Japan. The collection -- which includes drug advertisements, illustrated instructions for treating and preventing contagious diseases, and visual guides to the human body -- offers a unique look at Japanese medical knowledge in the late Edo and early Meiji periods. Here are a few images from the collection.



Ad for Kinder-Puwder, King of Pediatric Drugs -- Morikawa Chikashige, 1880 [+]



Chasing measles away -- Utagawa Yoshimori, 1862



Ten realms within the body -- Utagawa Kuniteru III, c. 1885 [+]



Pills to cure toxic illnesses such as syphilis and gonorrhea -- Artist unknown, late 19th century



Protective gods help good drugs fight evil disease -- Utagawa Yoshikazu, 1858 [+]



Hōsō-e talisman print to ward off smallpox -- Artist unknown, c. 1849



Ad for drug to improve handwriting and reading skills -- Utagawa Yoshitsuya, 1862



Foods that can be eaten by measles patients -- Utagawa Yoshimori, 1860s



Pregnancy guide -- Hamano Teisuke, 1880 [+]



Eye, ear, nose and hand -- Ochiai Yoshiiku, c. 1865



Defeating cholera -- Kimura Takejiro, 1886 [+]



Hōsō-e talisman print to ward off smallpox -- Utagawa Toyohisa II, c. 1830



Three mighty men conquering measles -- Ochiai Yoshiiku, 1870s [+]



Measles treatment -- Ochiai Yoshiiku, 1862



Teaching on harmonious body and mind -- Utagawa Yoshikatsu, 1850 [+]



Measles-themed hand game -- Utagawa Yoshitsuya, 1862



Illustrated guide to parental obligations -- Utagawa Yoshitora, 1880 [+]



Shinto god from Izumo province for preventing measles -- Taiso Yoshitoshi, 1862



Seller of eyeglasses -- Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1811-1814



Hōsō-e talisman print to ward off smallpox -- Utagawa Yoshitsuru, c. 1849



Illustrated account of cholera prevention -- Taiso Yoshitoshi, 1877 [+]



Bodily functions personified as popular kabuki actors -- Artist unknown, late 19th century [+]



Methods for preventing measles -- Utagawa Fusatane, 1858 [+]



Defeating measles (personified as a child) -- Utagawa Yoshifuji, c. 1840



Pregnant women playing in summer heat (5 heads, 10 bodies) -- Utagawa Kunitoshi, 1881 [+]

[Link: UCSF Japanese Woodblock Print Collection]