Uirō (Japanese medicine)

Uirō (Japanese: ういらう or 外郎) sold by Uirō Company in Odawara, Kanagawa, usually is a well-known traditional Japanese medicine.

The origin of Uirō in Odawara goes back to the 14th century China. Chin En-yū (陳延祐, Chen Yanyou in Mandarin Chinese), a medical doctor, in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, moved to Japan as the Yuan Dynasty was replaced by the Ming Dynasty. He arrived in Hakata, and practised medicine, calling himself Chin Gairō (陳外郎, Chen Wailang), using the title of his Yuan Dynasty government. He was invited several times to Kyoto to serve Yoshimitsu Ashikaga, the then shōgun, but he declined. He later became a Buddhist monk, assumed the name of Sokei (宗敬), and died in Hakata.

His son, Sōki (宗奇), moved to Kyoto, and was sent to his father's home town of Taizhou, China. He brought the recipe of Reihōtan medicine (霊宝丹), which was such an effective medicine for many diseases that it was given the name of "Tōchinkō" (透頂香) by the emperor because of its special fragrance. It was also called Uirō, a degenerate of the Zhejiang pronunciation of "Wailang", the government title of his father. Sōki also entertained foreign guests with special cakes, which were called "Uirō cakes".

Jōyu, Sōki's son, was a man of high esteem. His son, Soden (祖田), was also so respected by many that Soden's eldest son, Sadaharu (定治), was given by shōgun Yoshimasa Ashikaga a Japanese family name of Uno (宇野). Sadaharu Uno moved to Odawara in 1504 at the invitation of Sōun Hojo and the Chin Gairō family ever since made Uirō medicine there.

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