When studying the history of warfare, many of us talk of generals, campaigns, tactical movements of armies, and major battles. While studying these topics is still very important for us to understand the significance and impact of historical events, we must also try to place ourselves into the boots of the common fighting man. One of the best ways to do this is by examining the food and rations that these soldiers ate on a regular basis. American and German food supplies from the Second World War are fairly well understood and documented. This is no surprise, as most aspects of the war in Europe have been extensively studied, and there exists a massive collecting community of American, British, and German militaria. While there is a large Japanese militaria collecting community around the world, many topics on the day-to-day life of the Japanese infantryman are poorly understood. One of the least understood aspects of the Japanese soldier’s life is the food he ate.
It is a very common trope that the Japanese soldier, “survived on a bowl of rice a day”. Not only is this outright false, it completely dismisses very important cultural and geographical differences between Asia and ‘western’ nations. Indeed, it’s true that the Japanese soldier consumed a lot of rice, about 50% of a Japanese soldier’s diet was based on rice, but the same can be said of American, British, and German soldiers with bread. Bread is a staple food in Europe and North America, and approximately half of the European soldiers' diet consisted of bread products. Comparatively, rice is the staple food of Asian countries. In the same way that westerners don’t solely eat bread, the Japanese didn’t only eat rice and greatly appreciated variety in their diet. The US military manual ‘Soldiers Guide to the Japanese Army’ puts it best, “the Japanese soldier would no more be satisfied with a ration consisting exclusively of rice than an Allied soldier would with bread alone” (War Dept. 1944).
The normal daily combat ration issued to Japanese soldiers generally consisted of 20oz (560g) of white or brown rice, one 5oz (140g) can of meat, one 5oz (140g) can of vegetables, 2oz (56g) dried plums, 1oz (28g) of miso powder, 0.5oz (14g) of salt, 1oz (28g) sugar, and 0.5oz (14g) of tea. A variety of condiments such as powdered soy sauce, black pepper, and monosodium glutamate (MSG) seasoning were also provided. When available, the Japanese supplied troops with sake and beer. The Japanese also issued various other types of emergency rations, chocolate, sesame seed energy bars, as well as hard candy. Emergency rations consisted of puffed rice, dried plums, sugar, and salt. Troops also carried fresh fruits and vegetables when available. In distant garrison environments, units would often cultivate plots of land and grow gardens to supplement their provided rations. The Japanese were also well known to purchase and barter with locals for food items and in tactical situations, loot. Japanese servicemen would also receive Imon bukuro (comfort bags) either from family or from women’s patriotic societies. These comfort bags served the same purpose as todays ‘care packages’, raising morale and providing soldiers with creature comfort, and hygiene items. Contents would often include canned food, cigarettes, photos, letters, and soap.
There are two major types of rice that were issued in the Japanese army during the Second World War. The first type of rice is brown (unpolished) rice. The second type is white (polished) rice. The two types are actually the same grain of rice, with the only difference being polished or unpolished. Brown rice only has the husk of the rice grain removed, but the bran and germ layers remain, giving the rice its brown color. These bran and germ layers are quite nutritionally dense and provide a good source of vitamins and minerals; most critical of all is thiamine or vitamin B1. White rice has undergone a milling process that removes the bran and germ layers, revealing the white grain underneath. The removal of these bran and germ layers also removes the important nutritional aspects of the rice.
White rice was the preferred type by Japanese soldiers. It tastes better, cooks faster, and stores longer than brown rice. However, vitamin deficiencies would plague the Japanese army throughout the Pacific theater due to the preference for white rice, and lack of diet variety. A severe thiamine deficiency leads to a disease called beriberi which can be life-threatening. Brown rice retains its nutritious germ layer and was often mixed with white rice to improve nutritional content, and combat beriberi. Today, white rice is often ‘enriched’ with vitamins and minerals to help fight nutritional deficiencies around the world. The Japanese military also issued oral vitamin supplements and pills to ensure soldiers were getting proper nutritional content. Rice would be issued in cotton bags or stored inside a clean pair of socks and carried inside the soldiers’ pack or bread bag.
Enlisted men could cook their rice in the standard three-piece mess kit, called a hango (rice cooker). Different types of mess kits exist for Non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and officers; but for simplicity, we’ll focus solely on the enlisted mans’ mess kit. The standard hango is constructed of a stamped aluminum pot, inner tray, and lid. The hango also has a wire handle attached to the outside of the pot to allow for carrying and hanging over a cooking fire. The pot has two small measuring marks stamped into the lower portion of the body. The lower mark makes two servings, and the upper mark makes four servings of rice. To prepare rice in the hango, fill the pot with rice to the desired mark, and then add water to the same level, bring the water to a boil, cover, and let simmer for 10 minutes. Cooked rice would often be stored in a wicker box and eaten later, or while on the move. Usually, cooking was done over an open fire and several mess kits were suspended over a campfire, but fuel tablets and solid alcohol cans were issued for use when time or tactical situations didn't permit the building of a fire.
Japanese three-piece mess kit and chopsticks
Above: Solid fuel alcohol stove with instructions
Below: Solid fuel tablets
Like almost all nations during the Second World War, the Japanese issued hardtack to troops as part of their combat ration. Called Kanpan (dry bread), it was introduced during the Russo-Japanese war (1904-05) as an easy source of carbohydrates when field kitchens were unavailable. The Japanese standard was for the soldier to carry three days’ worth of kanpan to eat in emergency situations and consumed only at the orders of an officer. The original kanpan was large, a little smaller than a playing card. In the 1930s, its size was reduced to bite-sized pieces to allow for easier consumption while on the move. The daily ration of large kanpan consisted of two packages of six pieces each, wrapped in cellophane and then wrapped in paper and secured with twine. The later, smaller kanpan was issued in three cotton muslin bags weighing about eight ounces each. Each bag was considered a meal. Both large and small kanpan are still made and enjoyed as a snack food in Japan today and have remained essentially unchanged.
Left: Larger, early kanpan. Right: Smaller, later kanpan.
While on paper the standard daily ration was more than adequate, the reality is that the Japanese system of providing troops with the food they needed faced crippling problems. To start, the Japanese ration was not standardized as it was in the American army, and the Japanese had no pre-packaged set of daily rations like the American K-ration. Instead, the Japanese relied on bulk deliveries of food stuffs that would then be distributed to troops in the field. As the war turned against the Japanese in the Pacific, supply lines were interrupted, and transport ships were decimated by American submarines and aircraft. Many Japanese soldiers posted on isolated Pacific islands starved. Some remote garrisons were resupplied by submarines, which would float rations ashore in drums or rubber bladders. This system was really only a last-ditch effort to supply troops and was not common or practical.
The second major drawback was the packaging. Other than canned food, which was not always available in sufficient quantities, most other Japanese food items were packed in cotton bags or paper sacks which made them vulnerable to spoilage. Rice in particular was an issue. Rice was shipped in bulk in burlap sacks. This wouldn’t normally be a problem; however, once stored inside a dark, hot, and damp ship's hold traveling across the Pacific Ocean for sometimes over a week the rice would often spoil and become rancid. These same issues also affected the delivery of fresh fruit and vegetables. Other rations such as rice flour and emergency rations were packaged in paper sacks with no waterproofing ability. The same was true with kanpan which was supplied in cotton bags. Once wet, or after long enough exposure to the humid environments of the South Pacific, these too went bad. These supply issues were not as prevalent in China as they were in the Pacific. Large swathes of China were under solid Japanese control and had plenty of local food production capabilities. Most of the supply lines in the Chinese theater were by road, and supplies could be transported quickly without fear of attack.
While Japanese soldiers ate quite well during times of adequate supply, with a diet that was varied and nutritious, it was ultimately the Japanese supply system that failed in the Pacific. Poor packaging led to spoilage, and non-standardized rations led to logistical issues and problems with food variety. Over-stretched supply lines were vulnerable to attack, and longer distances only exacerbated the risks of food becoming rancid. Supplies and food stuffs were lost by the thousands of tons due to spoilage, or by being sent to the bottom of the ocean by Allied submarine attacks. These issues combined doomed the remote Japanese garrisons in the Pacific, and ultimately aided the Allies in their Island-hopping campaigns across the Pacific.