Imperial Japanese rations
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Imperial Japanese rationswere the
field rations issued by
Imperial Japan in
World War II, and which reflected the culture of the
Japanese military.
Rations had to be stout, durable, simple, sturdy and had to survive without
refrigeration for long periods of time. Typically each ration was served in the field in
tin boxes, and cooked near the battlefield.
The rations issued by the
Imperial Japanese Government, usually consisted of
rice with
barley, meat or fish, vegetables, pickled vegetables,
umeboshi,
shoyu sauce,
miso or bean paste, and
green tea. A typical field ration would have 1½ cups of rice, with barley. The reason why rice was issued with barley was to combat nutritional deficiencies such as
beriberi.
Typically ¼ cup of canned
tuna, or
sausages, and/or
squid would be cooked from either captured locations or hunting in the nearby area. Preserved foods from Japan typically were issued sparingly. Other foods issued: 1 ¼ cups of canned
cabbage,
coconut,
sweet potato,
burdock,
lotus root,
taro,
bean sprouts,
peaches,
mandarin oranges,
lychee or
beans. 3 teaspoons of
pickled radish (typically
daikon), pickled
cucumber,
umeboshi,
scallions and
ginger added flavor to the rations. Sometimes less than an ounce of dried
seaweed, was issued for making
sushi in the field, or
beer and/or
sake was issued to help boost morale.
US Marines, who captured these rations from the Japanese, often found a taste for
rice vinegar,
shoyu sauce and
MSG, which were typically added to rice when the Japanese seasoned the rice for long range missions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Japanese_rations