The wood creosote is blended with two or more crude medicines (生薬, shōyaku) recognized in Chinese materia medica (漢方薬, kanpōyaku) for their antiseptic and other effects, but the additional ingredients used are different among manufacturers (See under § Chemical composition for a sampling of formulas).

The Seirogan (正露丸) name was filed for trademark registration by Taiko Pharmaceutical in 1954,[7] but approximately thirty competitors[7] such as Izumi Yakuhin Kogyou Co., Ltd. [ja] objected, leading to a lengthy battle, petitioning the Patent Office, then later litigating in court.

The court also did not recognize Taiko Pharmaceutical's exclusive right to use the distinctive color scheme and graphic design on the packaged box (and sticker label on the pill bottle), with the exception of the product logo depicting a bugle (cf.

The Japanese Imperial Army, which experienced considerable setbacks due to unclean water sources during the Sino-Japanese War at the end of the 19th century, was working on solutions to combat infectious diseases.

Surgeon-major Michitomo Tozuka (戸塚機知), an instructor at the Military Medical College, discovered in 1903 that creosote agent was an effective suppressant for the typhoid fever pathogen.

Prompted by their misguided view, the army distributed vast quantities of Seirogan (with their proven antiseptic properties) among the troops to be administered daily throughout the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5.

But this was in the days when drug use as preventive medicine was not a widely embraced concept, and soldiers resisted swallowing this weird-smelling and unfamiliar pill, even when so instructed.

[9] This subterfuge reportedly greatly improved the soldiers' compliance towards taking the pill, making them less prone to be forced out of action due to stomach aches or diarrhea.

While Seirogan proved powerless against beriberi, the antidiarrheal and toothache-soothing properties of the pill were passed on, in somewhat exaggerated fashion, by repatriated war veterans.

Amid the mood of victory in war, Seirogan's name became "the cure-all that defeated Russia" and many drug-makers rushed to manufacture the pill, which became a national medicine unique to Japan.

The reputation for the pill's effectiveness also spread within areas under Japanese control before the end of World War II, and Seirogan is said to be one of the popular items purchased by travelers from Taiwan, Hong Kong, the People's Republic of China, and other Asian countries.

On November 24, 2005,[11] Taiko Pharmaceutical filed a suit against Izumi Yakuhin Kogyou in the Osaka District Court [ja], claiming the sales of merchandise with similar packaging constituted an act of unfair competitive practice under Unfair Competition Prevention Act (Japan) [ja] 2.1.1 or 2.1.2, and was an infringement of its trademark rights (docket number: Heisei 17 (wa）No.

But in the opinion read by the court contained this passage: "Whether a certain label is a common name or not is an issue pertaining to perception by users (commercial dealers and consumers at large), so even if a label has been regarded as a common name within a certain period, it may later come to be perceived as denoting a specific product as a matter of the ongoing real situation of its commerce, and it is not impossible for it to regain its source designator (出所表示機, shussho hyōji kinō) (i.e., manufacturer specifying) purpose".

These recent naming conventions were prompted by a controversy set off by a consumer alert booklet, Katte wa ikenai [ja] (買ってはいけない, "Should not buy") (pub.