Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

OINTMENT BOTTLE

Date

1988

Materials

PAPER, GLASS

No. Pieces

2

Height

2.1

Length

10

Width

6.2

Description

.1) BOX. RECTANGULAR WHITE PAPER BOX WITH YELLOW AND RED FRONT COVER. PRINTING IS IN ASIAN LANGUAGE AND IN ENGLISH. FRONT READS "WHITE FLOWER ANALGESIC BALM". REVERSE HAS "LOT NO. US 6-88 EXP DEC/93". .2) BOTTLE. CLEAR GLASS BOTTLE WITH RED PAPER LABEL ON FRONT WHICH HAS BRONZE EDGE AND WHITE FLOWERS. TWO ROWS OF CHINESE CHARACTERS ARE RAISED IN GLASS ON EITHER SIDE OF LABEL. BLACK PLASTIC LID.

Subjects

MERCHANDISING T&E

MEDICAL & DENTAL T&E

Historical Association

PERSONAL CARE

History

OINTMENT BOTTLE BELONGED TO DONOR'S FATHER, REV. G.G. NAKAYAMA. ALTHOUGH CALLED TO THE MINISTRY, REV. NAKAYAMA ORIGINALLY WISHED TO BE A DOCTOR AND CONTINUED TO BE INTERESTED IN THE HUMAN BODY AND HEALTH ISSUES. THIS IS ONE OF MANY ITEMS HE USED OR COLLECTED IN REGARDS TO THAT INTEREST. THE NAKAYAMA FAMILY WAS ORIGINALLY FROM VANCOUVER BUT MOVED TO COALDALE FOLLOWING THE SECOND WORLD WAR WHEN THEY WERE INTERNED AT SLOCAN CITY IN THE INTERIOR OF BRITISH COLUMBIA BY THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT. THE DONOR'S FATHER, REV. CANON G.G. NAKAYAMA, WAS AN ANGLICAN MINISTER IN VANCOUVER, AND THEN ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION IN COALDALE IN 1945 WHERE HE SERVED UNTIL 1970. FROM AUGUST 29 TO 31, 2011 COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED THE DONOR, JOY KOGAWA, ABOUT HER MEMORIES ASSOCIATED WITH SPECIFIC OBJECTS THAT SHE DONATED IN 1997. OF THIS ARTIFACT, KOGAWA SAID: “MY DAD WANTED TO BE A DOCTOR… WHAT HE SAID WAS THAT WHEN HIS FIRST CHILD WAS STILLBORN, THAT CHILD WAS, RIGHT UP UNTIL THE BIRTH, IT WAS BEAUTIFUL, HEALTHY, FAT, BUT WHEN HE WAS BORN, THE CORD GOT AROUND THE NECK AND HE STOPPED BREATHING. TRAGIC, AND [MY FATHER] WAS SO HEARTBROKEN, AND SOME MINISTER COMFORTED HIM AND HE FELT THAT THE WOUNDING OF THE HEART IS WHAT HE WANTED TO FOCUS ON. SO HE DECIDED TO BECOME A MINISTER [INSTEAD OF A DOCTOR]. PLUS MY MOM WAS SO DEVOUT, AND HE WAS A METHODIST AND SHE WAS AN ANGLICAN, AND SO, FOR THE SAKE OF THE FAMILY, I GUESS, HE BECAME AN ANGLICAN… [BUT] HE HAD A LOT OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT, THINGS FOR HEALING...” SEE RECORD P19970041001 FOR EXPANDED BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION AND PERMANENT FILE FOR FURTHER HISTORY.

Catalogue Number

P19970041567

Acquisition Date

1997-01

Collection

Museum

Less detail