This pamphlet bychildren's illustrator
Teiji Kawame urges
children to "Brush
your teeth in themorning and before
bedtime."

Chapter 3

Protecting children
from tooth decay– Promoting oral health among schoolchildren

The dental treatment activities introduced in Chapter 2 and those promoting oral
health among schoolchildren began at around the same time. Let's look at various
activities throughout Japan to instill proper brushing habits among children, focusing
30

on the Mass Toothbrushing Drill For Children.

This training event forelementary school teaching
staff had capacity to intensively train 200 people overfour days.

A 96% rate of tooth decay
among children
Training events for elementary school teaching staff
After 1860, children were the people in Japan most affected by changes ineating habits including higher consumption of warm, soft, sweet foods. By
1910, 96% of Japanese children had cavities, indicative of the spread ofsevere tooth decay. "At this rate, the country will perish from dental cavities." The urgent crisis led Kobayashi to pour its energy into promoting oral
health for children.
1913, to all elementary schools across the country, making it easier for children to understand the importance of brushing their teeth. Recognizing thehygiene workshops in Tokyo for elementary school teachers from around
Japan beginning in 1918. In order to encourage participation from allregions, Kobayashi made the extraordinary offer to pay for half of participants' travel costs to Tokyo. As a result, there were always large numbers ofteaching staff participating. The workshops were held annually until theircancellation due to the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, and they had a big
impact on the subsequent development of school dentistry.

Promoting oral health among schoolchildren

importance of training educators as well, the company presented oral

Chapter 3First, the company expanded the Lion Lecture Meetings, which started in31

ue
Lion's uniqs②
al activitie
promotion

Promoting fun toothbrushinghabits among children● Lion Children's Toothpaste attracts children with colorful prizes
At the time, highly effective toothpastes were available only to adults, soKobayashi formulated an effective agent for infants' growing teeth and developed
Lion Children's Toothpaste, with colors and flavors that appealed to children.
Chapter 3

Designed to encourage children to enjoy developing the toothbrushing habit, thePromoting oral health among schoolchildren

Kaburagi*¹, a master of Japanese painting, and Takeo Takei*², a prolific illustrator

32

product included prizes such as picture books and bookmarks with each purchase. For the products, the company commissioned artwork from Kiyokata
of children's magazines, etc. Not only did they raise awareness about toothbrushing; they also helped to educate children and develop them emotionally.

*¹ Kiyokata Kaburagi (1878-1972)

This master of modern Japanese painting, famous for his portraits of beautiful women, wasawarded the Order Of Culture in 1954.

*² Takeo Takei (1894-1983)

In "paintings that touch the hearts of children," he created a unique view of the world with a stylethat skillfully represented what was on a child's mind.

A Taisho-era Toothbrushing
Drill, modeled on those in theU.S.A. in the 1910s.

10 years, 20,000 schools,
26 million people
Toothbrushing Drills provided instruction on
correct brushing methods.
Toothbrushing Drills that began in 1922 were based on the idea that practice is the best way to teach children how to brush their teeth properly. As
the name implies, the drills were conducted like calisthenics. All the children at an elementary school would stand together, toothbrushes in hand,and follow commands to practice brushing their teeth. At the time, there
moving the brush vertically up and down was taught. From 1925, the drills
were renamed National School Toothbrushing Drills and expanded nationous regions leading up to 1935, the drills were carried out at around 20,000
elementary schools, and the participation of children reached 26 million.
From the elementary schools came such comments as "Children beganbrushing their teeth voluntarily," "Children developed good personal
hygiene in general, even beyond the habit of toothbrushing," and "We used
these drills to justify installation of sinks in school where the children canbrush their teeth." Such reactions testify to the drills’ effectiveness at improving children's oral hygiene.

Promoting oral health among schoolchildren

wide, becoming a regular activity. In 10 years of intensive activity in vari-Chapter 3

was no standard method for brushing teeth, so the correct method of33

T h e To o t h b r u s h i n gDrills helped develop
the brushing habit
from a young age.

Unique activities to capture
the hearts of children
The Lion Toothpaste Children's Theater Company
From the Taisho era through the early Showa era, Kobayashi developed
unique projects to help children understand the importance of brushing
their teeth, and implemented a variety of educational activities around thecountry.
The Lion Toothpaste Children's Theater Company formed in 1924 performed creative plays about the importance of oral hygiene and caries preChapter 3
Promoting oral health among schoolchildren
34vention including "The Story of Tooth Land" and "The Lion Dental
Revue." After opening at the Tennoji Public Hall in Osaka, the group gavedozens of performances across the country, beginning with Tokyo.

Public recognition of people with healthy teeth
The company also held oral examination events for elementary school
children in the Kansai district. 1,500 children were presented with awards
for having excellent teeth. These activities attracted such great interest
among officials that Tokyo and then other cities around Japan began tohold similar events, organized mainly by dentists.

The First Schoolchildren's
Mass Toothbrushing Drill
was held in 1932 at Hibiya
Park Music Hall.

The national government's
first oral health promotion
Dental Health Day and dental treatment at schools
While Kobayashi Co. and others were increasing their activities to promoteoral health, the government started its own initiatives in 1920. The Ministryof Home Affairs opened the Children's Health Exposition in Tokyo, addressing the three major diseases of the time: tuberculosis, trachoma, and toothdecay. November 5 was thereby designated as Dental Health Day and a campaign was launched to promote cavity prevention. Kobayashi and the Dental
ing leaflets as part of grassroots activities. The government also issued theSchool Dentist Ordinance recommending that each school hire a school denThe national government and public administrations had finally begun totake initiatives in the push for better oral health.
Later, Dental Health Day became June 4, sponsored by the Japan Dental
Association with support from the Department of the Interior and the Ministry of Education. Regional administrative organizations also provided support that grew steadily each year. Accordingly, the support of Kobayashi
grew, helping to make Dental Health Day a major event. In 1932, the company gave the movement even more momentum by presenting the First
Schoolchildren's Mass Toothbrushing Drill in Tokyo and Osaka.

Promoting oral health among schoolchildren

tist to teach the children about cavity prevention and dental maintenance.

Chapter 3

Association also supported this campaign by carrying out PR and distribut-35

Even in wartime, 10,000 children
gathered at Korakuen Stadium,
Tokyo for the Ninth Schoolchildren's Mass Toothbrushing Drills.

Mass Toothbrushing Drills
continued even in wartime
For the First Schoolchildren's Mass Toothbrushing Drills, around 10,000
children from 30 schools participated in front of the Hibiya Park MusicHall in Tokyo. In Osaka, approximately 15,000 children from 40 schools
participated at Tennoji Park. The spectacle of the children, toothbrushes inhand, following instructions and brushing their teeth in unison, had thepower of a large-scale sporting event, and the drills were hugely successful. Even when the world became engulfed in the Sino-Japanese war, theChapter 3
Promoting oral health among schoolchildren
36Children's Mass Toothbrushing Drills continued each year, as in 1937, thesixth year of the event, when the oral hygiene division of Kobayashi,
along with school dentists and teaching staff, began preparing months inadvance to mark the tenth annual Dental Health Day. On June 5, 1937, theevent in Tokyo's Sumida Park attracted 8,000 children.
Also, 1940, the year before the outbreak of the Pacific War, overlappedwith the 50th anniversary of the founding of Kobayashi Co. Ltd., so thedrills were held in Nagoya, Shizuoka, Kanazawa, and Kuwana City, inaddition to Tokyo. 10,000 schoolchildren participated in the Tokyo event
at Korakuen Stadium. However, with the war situation worsening forJapan, the toothbrushing drills were suspended for the next 12 years until
the postwar turmoil subsided.

The head office and Tokyo
factory were destroyed byfire due to aerial bombing.
The month after the war
ended, 50 new people werehired and rebuilding began.

Starting again from burnt ruins
Dental hygiene measures from GHQ
On August 15, 1945, the long, disastrous war finally came to its end, afterscarring Japan and other Asian countries. By that time, Kobayashi Co. Ltd.
had lost the head office and various other offices around the country, aswell as many overseas bases. President Kiichi Kobayashi wanted to restore
the company to its previous condition as soon as possible by welcomingback his employees, then attempting to restart while restricted by the reguWhile indirectly ruling Japan, GHQ made efforts to improve Japan's sanitary conditions deteriorated by war, and thereby directed measures toresponse, in 1946 the Ministry of Education organized tours by dentists
and nurses to schools in each prefecture. This campaign to examine everychild at every school was one of the largest public health initiatives ever inJapan. Very few school dental examinations had occurred during the war,so this initiative under the direction of GHQ revived Japan's oral healthpromotion activities. During these examinations, topical application of fluoride, a new practice introduced from the United States, was carried out.
This played a major role in Japan’s adoption of fluoride.

Promoting oral health among schoolchildren

counter cholera and typhus, and promote dental hygiene for children. InChapter 3

lations of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ).

37

The mobile zoo operated
from 1950-51.

Bringing smiles toa rebuilding city
Taking oral health promotion activities to recreation sites
In 1949, three years after the end of the war, Kobayashi Co., Ltd. envisioned the path to recovery and changed its name to Lion Dentifrice Co.,
Ltd. In this new era, the company was committed to renewing internal andexternal growth, and resumed its mission to promote oral health.
Although life had stabilized, there were few facilities for amusement andculture. As Cultural Division Director Yoshio Mukai (who became theChapter 3
Promoting oral health among schoolchildren
38

full-time head of oral health activities) said, "I want to carry out oral healthactivities that create a life-enriching cultural oasis." For his purposes, hesuccessfully expanded oral health promotions to include events involving
movies, concerts, traveling zoos, and children's Sunday school, as well aslecture meetings. The mobile zoo was made up of five colorfully decorated
trucks, with a lion, a puma, leopard, bear, monkeys, and birds. It toured all
around Japan. The entertaining show captivated audiences with monkey
acrobatics, fairy tale readings, singing shows, evening movie screenings
and other activities to raise oral hygiene awareness. In addition, the children's Sunday school held lectures by celebrities, movie screenings, etc.,with the support and cooperation of local school boards. These were so popular that parents would attend along with their children.

Enthusiastically welcomedby children in an era without
television.

The introduction of the Lion Health Car, a mobile clinic
In April 1952, the Lion Health Car, a symbol of the company's postwar
oral health activities, was introduced in a ceremony to the cheers andapplause of employees at Lion’s Tokyo factory. The truck was designed tolook like a tube of Lion Toothpaste, and attached to the roof was an animal
doll brushing its teeth. The interior was large, at 8.3m long, 2.45m wide,and 3.1m high. Inside, in addition to panels and a projector for displaying
ments. The Lion Health Car became widely popular as it regularly visited
two elementary or junior high schools each day, providing for lectures,
sales. It kept to a tough schedule up until nighttime, when it was often used
for outdoor projection gatherings in public parks. Although the staff wereso busy that they often had to eat their lunch in the truck as it traveled
bumpy roads, one witness said "the reason we didn't feel it was such ahardship was because of the tremendous welcome we received at the elementary and junior high schools, as well as shops we visited." A total ofthree Lion Health Cars were produced, and they toured throughout Japan.

Promoting oral health among schoolchildren

treatments, as well as film screenings, and trips to shops to help promote

Chapter 3

oral health information, was everything required for children's dental treat-39

The revived Schoolchildren's MassToothbrushing Training, held at theGaien Stadium, predecessor totoday’s National Stadium. The
name was changed at the direction of GHQ to use "Training"
instead of the military term "Drills".

The long-awaited revivalof The Schoolchildren's
Mass Toothbrushing Drills
The Tenth Schoolchildren's Mass Toothbrushing Training
The Lion Dentifrice Co., Ltd. Schoolchildren's Mass Toothbrushing Drills,
which had not been held since they were suspended in 1941 due to the war,
were finally revived in 1953. A loud fanfare signaled the spectacular
entrance of 12,000 children marching into Yoyogi's Gaien Stadium, and thestands were filled with about 20,000 more children. Then they all participated in toothbrushing training, brushing in time to a live orchestra, recalling
Chapter 3
Promoting oral health among schoolchildren
40

scenes from 13 years before. The "recreation" portion of the program that
followed the toothbrushing exercises began with a performance by theTokyo Metropolitan Police Department Brass Band, and showcased a flightdemonstration by a helicopter from the U.S. Far East Air Force. At a time
when entertainment was lacking, it was a memorable event for children.
Thereafter, the Schoolchildren's Mass Toothbrushing Training adapted tochanging times, and now continues as the annual Schoolchildren's Toothbrushing Tournament.
About 100 years ago, the dental caries rate among children in Japanexceeded 96%. In 2014, the average 12-year-old had just one caries, a significant decrease. Lion's activities promoting oral health, focusing on theSchoolchildren's Toothbrushing Tournament, certainly contributed to thisprogress.Looking back on Chapter 3

A pleasant life starts withgood everyday habits
The oral health activity of highest priority was to promote proper
toothbrushing habits, as developing good habits from a young age
was considered to be important for future health.
Good daily habits, including toothbrushing, leads to a healthy,
pleasant life, and proposing and establishing such habits are importinstill toothbrushing habits in children, it will continue to work hard
every day to make lifestyles healthier and more comfortable for

Promoting oral health among schoolchildren

people around the world.

Chapter 3

ant to Lion’s mission. Just as the company applied ingenuity to41