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How prevalent was opium smoking in Japan or Asia in general? Sample size of 1, but in Blue Eye Samurai, the protagonist’s mother is shown to be an opium addict and constantly sucking on a pipe like this one. Never linked Japan to opium before, so that was very new to me
Not sure about Japan or, for that matter, China outside of a narrow period of the 19th century, but I do know that opium smoking was extremely widespread in the 19th century after China was flooded by cheap British opium, to the point where it created a massive economic, public health, and manpower crisis from the widespread availability and low cost of opium. I believe in prior eras it was a known vice, but one generally restricted to wealthier individuals rather than the ‘opium dens’ we think of.
I might be wrong about that, don’t quote me or anything.
Ty :)
