Homeishu, Japan's oldest medicinal tonic is a kind of liqueur made from a number of different Japanese and Chinese herb essences. the famous homeishu produced in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, is sold in bottles of Bizen ware wrapped in straw mattings. Two styles of wrappin are shown here. in the simpler one (plate 138) no box is used, and the matting is wrapped directlty around the bottle. a tag and a bookelt describing the virtues of the tonic are attached. in the more complicated style (plate 139) the bottle is placed in a box, and three pieces of matting are tied around it to create a package of considerable charm.